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UN reopens Morocco refugee office after demo ends
25 May 2007 14:45:52 GMT
Source: Reuters
RABAT, May 25 (Reuters) - The U.N. refugee agency reopened its office in Morocco on Friday after police dispersed 20 migrants who camped outside the entrance for a week to demand residence papers, jobs and healthcare, the agency said.

Some of the migrants barged into the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office last Friday and demanded to see the director, who then closed the office as a security precaution.

"Our office in Rabat has reopened after a demonstration by some 20 refugees in front of UNHCR's office was dispersed in a peaceful manner by Moroccan law enforcement officials late on Thursday night," the UNHCR said in a statement.

The agency says there are around 600 official refugees in Morocco and estimates more than 10,000 economic migrants live illegally in the North African country without the paperwork needed to find a job or get healthcare.

Most are trying to reach Europe to find work. But tightened border security has made it impossible to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, stranding them in a country grappling with poverty and the threat of social unrest.

Until last year Morocco gave residence cards to migrants with official U.N. refugee papers, but then stopped granting them automatically. Some migrants with refugee status accuse Moroccan police of ripping up their papers before their eyes.

Morocco's government says it treats migrants fairly and respects their rights.
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Paramilitary policemen prepare to solidify local dams in Yingshang county, east China's Anhui province July 17, 2007. Heavy rain across China has killed another five people and prevented half a million residents displaced by a swollen river for days from returning home, state media said on Tuesday. Picture taken July 17, 2007.



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