The small Moroccan community of Yemen is requesting emergency repatriation. The government has yet to respond to these calls.
The Moroccans in Yemen fear they may be the target of reprisals by the militias or houthies because of the participation of Rabat in military operations launched since Monday, March 23.
In a text dating from Thursday, April 2, a Moroccan resident in Sana’a calls on the authorities to send planes to evacuate the Moroccan community. A Yemeni, married to a Moroccan, also expressed the same wish.
Normally, there is a monitoring committee assisting the Moroccan communities in conflict zones. Its interventions had made it possible to evacuate the Moroccans in Libya, Syria and Egypt.
Meanwhile the parliamentary group of the PJD sent two written questions to the Foreign Minister, Salaheddine Mezouar and his colleague in charge of Moroccans living abroad and Migration Affairs, Anis Birou.
“Our request was to enquire about the measures taken by the two departments for the Moroccans in Yemen,” told Nezha El Ouafi MP (PJD) to Yabiladi news outlet.
According to a source cited by Telquel magazine, the Embassy of Morocco in Yemen has “taken measures to raise awareness among the Moroccan community” from 2011 and has invited citizens who wish to, to make repatriation requests. A second operation was initiated in 2013. These two initiatives have, according to the same source, enabled the repatriation of 200 Moroccan citizens.
The same source also reports that “repatriation has never stopped” and is “fully supported by the state.” Moroccan citizens who remain on Yemeni territory usually have family ties to Yemen, which explains the fact that they do not want to leave and abandon their spouses. Nevertheless, children born of Moroccan parents are considered Moroccans.
Following the strikes against the Houthies, a crisis cell was set up by the embassy (always open in Sanaa) while a Consular office will “soon” open in Oman, which has a border with Yemen, ensures the source.
