Reopening of Melilla: Passage through Beni Ansar for cars and Farkhana for pedestrians

Although no date has been set for the resumption of land crossings between Nador and Melilla, the Spanish authorities have already started preparing for their opening soon.

The High Command of the National Police Corps in Melilla has established preliminary rules for the operation of the borders once they are reopened, according to what was revealed by the local newspaper, El Faro de Melilla.

The city’s security authorities have decided to allocate the Beni Ansar crossing to cars and various vehicles, and the Farkhana crossing to pedestrians.

The local authority in the commune of Beni Ansar oversaw the removal of the concrete barriers that were used to close the passage to Melilla in March 2020, the date of implementation of Morocco’s health emergency plan aimed at combating the spread of the pandemic.

Maintenance and cleaning works were carried out in the streets and at the passages to customs and security barriers, in addition to the repair of public lighting.

According to the same source, this procedure is considered “preliminary and experimental” to analyze its effectiveness in regulating the transit of people and goods without the occurrence of incidents of overcrowding as in previous years.

The same newspaper revealed that the ” smart borders » which were preparing to operate as soon as activity resumed at border crossings,“are still suspended”without explaining why.

Elvaro de Melilla said updating the border with Morocco was the demand of many political parties within the autonomous city, the most prominent of which is the far-right Vox party.

The People’s Party of Melilla had previously called for the abolition of what it described as an “exception” enjoyed by the Nador region, so that its inhabitants could enter the occupied city only through passports, stressing the need to annex the city to the “Schengen area” to impose visas on those who wish to enter it.

In the same context, the police of Melilla calls for the reinforcement of its body with approximately 50 to 100 elements to guard the borders and secure the crossings, in addition to the recruitment of special elements for this task and their inclusion in the indexing of jobs in the city.

At the level of security and customs, the necessary elements have been mobilized to organize the traffic and control process, in order to get this process off to a good start, which comes after the talks held by King Mohamed VI and the President of the Spanish Republic. Government, Pedro Sanchez. The gradual opening of the border post should take place overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, around three in the morning. The transit of holders of a residence card in Melilla, holders of a Schengen visa, Moroccans residing abroad, as well as European tourists will be authorized.

Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of the Spanish Government, announced, after his meeting with King Mohammed VI in Rabat, the gradual reopening of the Sebta and Melilla crossing points in order to ensure the regular flow of people in accordance with the necessary health requirements, in parallel the movement of goods through legal customs centres.

Moreover, this reopening of the two occupied presidencies, decided by the two partners, Morocco and Spain, will have a considerable impact on the economic situation of the northern region, which agonized during the two years of the pandemic.