Truck drivers express relief after Royal Armed Forces restore traffic in Guerguarat

Business as usual was restored in the Guerguarat border crossing after it was closed for three weeks by Polisario bandits.

The Moroccan TV, Al Oula, showed footage of smooth crossing of heavy trucks in both directions between Morocco and Mauritania.

“We thank His Majesty and the Moroccan Armed Forces for restoring peace and reopening this road,” one truck driver told the Moroccan TV.

Another expressed relief saying that the hundreds of Kilometers from different Moroccan cities to this passage were not as arduous as crossing the five kilometers in the buffer zone to Mauritania where Polisario militiamen used to blackmail drivers.

“This road used to be a nightmare for us. We suffered in this road before,” said another truck driver.

About 150 to 200 trucks cross the passage daily loaded with all kinds of vital supplies. The passage is also key for Mauritanian exports, notably fisheries, to Europe.

Morocco has launched a military operation to clear the area according to clear rules of engagement that avoided civilians and restricted the use of arms to self-defense.

The Polisario militiamen had to flee the site as soon as Morocco intervened to restore international traffic.

People in the southern provinces welcomed the reopening of the passage that links Morocco to the rest of Africa as well as Mauritanian people who finally could receive vital Moroccan foodstuff supplies after weeks of Polisario banditry caused prices to spike there.