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The Islamic Commission of Melilla (CIM) has called for the regularization of the situation of Moroccans trapped in the Spanish enclave.
The commission addressed a letter to Spain’s Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, urging him to order the opening of offices to regularize the situations of trapped Moroccans including imams.
The letter called for a “fair solution” to the problem. In the letter, the commission also filed a complaint against government delegate Sabrina Moh for refusing to meet with CIM personnel to discuss the situation, according to Ok Diario.
The letter, which was signed by the new president of CIM, Hassan Laboudi, called for tackling the failure of “all previous attempts” to address the situation that affects “thousands of people,” the Spanish newspaper reported.
“Minister, it is because of this reality that we ask you to have the most appropriate procedure to give the possibility of managing this problem, at the same time that we express our total predisposition to dialogue and cooperation to find a just solution,” CIM’s letter concluded.
Borders between Morocco and Melilla have been closed since last year due to COVID-19 crisis.
Recently, the Spanish government announced the extension of the closure of both Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla until “at least” the end of October.
The decision restricted non-essential travel from third countries to the European Union as a response to the spread of COVID-19.
The closure of Morocco-Spain borders caused frustration among people trapped in the Spanish enclaves or in Morocco since last year.
Amid the uproar, the government of Morocco reopened borders in different phases to allow Moroccans blocked in Ceuta and Melilla to travel back home.
The reopening started in May; it was temporary to help stranded people return home, and it has since been followed by several extensions of the initial decision to close borders.
