Morocco launches mass deportations to block Europe migration route

Morocco launches mass deportations to block Europe migration route Submitted by Kate McMahon on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 10:24 As the EU rolls out its new, stricter migration pact, Morocco intensifies crackdown and interceptions of sub-Saharan Africans at Europe’s behest A man looks on while standing with other sub-Saharan migrants at a tramway rail construction site in Morocco's city of Casablanca on 19 January 2023 (Fadel Senna/AFP) Off Since 14 April, Morocco has been conducting large-scale deportation operations targeting sub-Saharan Africans migrating to Europe, reportedly arresting over 100 per day, local sources told Middle East Eye. According to Moroccan human rights groups, around 800 people were detained during coordinated raids in the forests between Fnideq and Belyounech, in the northern tip of the North African state, where many were sheltering before attempting to reach Europe. The operation is still ongoing, with authorities then moving their focus to operations in and around Tangier. Witnesses have described mass arrests, beatings, racist abuse and forced transfers toward the Algerian border. Sudanese and Chadian detainees were bused south and abandoned near border zones, while people from countries including Senegal, Mali, Mauritania , Burkina Faso and Guinea were deported on flights departing Casablanca. The crackdown comes as the European Union has intensified its cooperation with Morocco as part of its border externalisation strategy, which is a key component of the bloc’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum set to take effect in June. The EU increasingly outsources immigration enforcement to North African nations with poor human rights records, designating o...

Original source: Middle East Eye