Moroccan authorities forcibly displaced hundreds of Black migrants in the weeks leading up to the 2025 African Cup of Nations, according to multiple human rights organizations and firsthand accounts. The operation, which intensified as the tournament approached, involved moving individuals from urban centers and coastal areas to remote desert towns, often without shelter or legal recourse. This effort coincided with Morocco’s bid to project an image of stability and security ahead of the continent’s premier football event, which drew over 600,000 visitors. The Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) documented a surge in such displacements, with its Rabat branch reporting the removal of 100 to 200 migrants daily in the final months of 2024. The group’s president, Souad Brahma, linked the operations to Morocco’s role as a key partner in European migration control. “Migrants are removed not only from public view but from areas linked to onward travel to Europe,” she said, citing a pattern of coordinated raids by the National Security, Royal Gendarmerie, and Auxiliary Forces. The EU has invested over €2 billion in Morocco’s migration management over the past decade, including border security and surveillance systems. This funding has reinforced Morocco’s position as a “gendarme of Europe,” according to Brahma. The country intercepts thousands of irregular migrants annually, with the Interior Ministry reporting 73,640 attempts to reach Europe in 2025. Spain, just 13 kilometers from Morocco’s northern coast, saw a 42.6% decline in irregular arrivals last year, dropping to 36,775 people. Forced relocations often involve bus convoys that transport migrants to remote regions like Khénifra or Agadir, where they are abandoned with no access to food, water, or medical care. A 40-year-old Congolese man, Dialo, described being detained for seven hours in 2022 before being loaded onto a bus and left in the desert with no money or water. “I had all my papers, but no one listened,” he said. Another Congolese migrant in Rabat, who requested anonymity, recounted being displaced three times in recent years, with some officials offering temporary release for €20 to €30. The Interior Ministry estimates between 25,000 and 40,000 irregular migrants reside in Morocco, many fleeing conflict, poverty, or climate disasters in West Africa. Despite legal residency permits, individuals like Dialo face systemic barriers to renewal, including requirements for lease agreements and work contracts that are often unattainable in the informal economy. AMDH found that Black migrants are disproportionately targeted, even those with valid documentation
