At the request of Morocco, the flights deporting Moroccan migrants from Spain to Morocco will land in Laayoune. A diplomatic way for Morocco to get Spain to recognize its sovereignty over the Sahara. In all, four trips of twenty migrants each will be made per week.
By imposing the Gran Canaria-Laâyoune route, Morocco indirectly leads Spain to recognize its sovereignty over the Sahara, says EFE, who recalls that the issue is even at the heart of the current crisis between the two countries. Morocco does not miss any opportunity to invite European countries and in particular Spain to “get out of their comfort zone and follow the dynamics of the United States” which officially recognized the sovereignty of Morocco over the Sahara.
Last week, Moroccans from the Rif boarded a special Royal Air Maroc (RAM) flight to Laayoune, after being transferred by plane from Murcia’s migrant detention center to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. However, it would have been easier to expel them on a flight from Madrid to Casablanca, Tangier or even Nador, destinations closer to their home in Al Hoceima.
According to EFE, Morocco has decided that deportation flights land in Laayoune four times a week, with around 20 Moroccan migrants on board. Exceptionally, other Moroccans who wish to return to the country after several weeks of waiting in the detention center are also authorized on these flights.
According to figures from the Spanish Interior Ministry, 11,998 Moroccans arrived illegally in the Canary Islands in 2020.
