Morocco receives 56 migrants after temporary Algeria border opening Thursday morning at the Colonel Lotfi border crossing — known locally as “Jouj Bghal” — Algerian authorities handed over 56 Moroccan nationals to the Moroccan side after a temporary opening of the land border between the two countries.
All were male and had either attempted irregular migration or were present on Algerian territory without legal status. Their families were waiting near the crossing to receive them.
The transfer was the fourth of its kind since the beginning of 2026, according to a communiqué from the Moroccan Association for the Assistance of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, based in Oujda.
The returnees came from cities across Morocco, including Oujda, Nador, Taounate, Rissani, Taza, Jorf El Melha, Ain Bni Mathar, Ksar el-Kebir, Fez, Tinghir, Salé, Settat, El Hajeb, Khenifra, El Kelaa, Kenitra, Zagora, Dar Bouazza and Berkane.
The association said it had spent two months working with families to send identity documents for many of those returned in this batch, as part of its ongoing monitoring of detained and imprisoned migrants awaiting deportation procedures.
— AMAMSV communiqué · Oujda, April 30, 2026
500 cases still open — more arriving daily
The association said it is currently tracking more than 500 cases involving Moroccan nationals abroad. Of those, more than 120 are in the process of deportation, including detainees, prisoners and individuals under administrative custody awaiting completion of legal procedures.
New cases are reported daily. The association recently received a list of 60 Moroccans currently in detention in Algeria and has begun contacting their families. Some of those being monitored have received initial prison sentences exceeding ten years.
Call for return of remains, action against trafficking
The association renewed its call to Algerian authorities — in the name of international law and international humanitarian law — to hand over the remains of Moroccan nationals currently held in morgues in Tlemcen, Oran and Bechar. Six bodies are awaiting transfer to their families for burial.
It also signaled plans to step up efforts against networks involved in human trafficking and fraud, including those exploiting families through false information and financial schemes, as well as individuals posing as lawyers.
The association reiterated its solidarity with the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights and with those detained for defending migrants’ rights and opposing intimidation and racism in Tunisia.
- Source: Communiqué by the Moroccan Association for the Assistance of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, issued in Oujda on April 30, 2026.
