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Casablanca – In the wake of a 100-km fence erected by Morocco along its border with Algeria last year, and a 700-km long trench by Algeria on its side, Algeria is building a 3.5-meter-high fence along its border with Morocco.
Algeria’s new fence is approximately 8 km south of Ahfir and about 10 km north of Beni Drar. Amid strained relations between the neighboring countries, the fence will be built as high as the one built by Morocco last year.
Hassan Ammari, a Moroccan expert in immigration and frontier issues stated in an interview with Spanish news agency Agencia EFE, “The construction of the Algerian fence started 10 days ago and is underway.”
The location of the fence, continues Ammari, is at an important crossing point for sub-Saharan migrants and fuel smugglers. The fence will also separate Algeria from the Moroccan cities of Ahfir and Beni Drar.
The purpose of the fence, according to an anonymous Algerian source reported in Yabiladi, is to put an end to smuggling from Algeria into Morocco, as well as Moroccan drug smuggling into Algeria.
Algerian authorities refused to officially confirm commencement of the construction of the fence, according to the source.
