Morocco fenced land borders with Algeria using barbed wire

Holidaymakers, who went to the Beach of Marsa Benmehidi on Friday, found a large area of land border that has been fenced by iran columns and barbed fences that were placed just 40 meters from the beach of Marsa Benmehidi.

They also found construction works bulldozers that were digging what looks like trenches along the border of Morocco near the Algerian trenches, a project, that sources familiar with Echorouk asserted that it was the subject of a study by the Moroccan authorities, for more than seven months, before they started its realization on the field in late May 2014.

Echorouk sources added that this project, which cost exceeds 33 million euros, and will extend over a distance of 450 km from the area of Saidia to the area of Fikik, adjacent to Bachar (southern Algeria), even if in its form was a Moroccan pretext within the framework of the fight against the flow of illegal immigrants from Algeria, as it has become an outlet for the movement of Africans and even the Syrians to and from Morocco to Spain, however, and the reality of the situation, according to the same sources, the fencing of the border by Morocco, is an unspoken protest against the trenches, which were dug along the border by the Algerian authorities to combat smuggling, 

Although the Kingdom has the right and all sovereignty over their territories, but with this step it is trying to propitiate the International community, and drew its attention to the borders that were closed by the Algerian authorities, which accused them every time of aborting the project of what is called the Federation of the Great Maghreb. 

Fencing of the land border between Algeria and Morocco has sparked reactions of Moroccan associations, about the high cost of this project, that is estimated at 33 million euros, giving example of the thorny iron wall which was built between the U.S. and Mexico, and which consumed a lot of money, but did not succeed in the fight against illegal immigration between the two countries.

Many questions were raised about this step which the Moroccan kingdom took, and is aware that its economy is built on the eastern part of drug smuggling way, as the border residents told Echorouk that the step by Morocco serves Algeria, especially since Saidia beach visitors and tourists will not be able to receive the Algerian fuel, as they used to in order to transport tourists through the rubber boats.