Morocco evacuates citizens from Syria

A diplomatic source at the Moroccan embassy in Damascus Wednesday has said Rabat has ordered the evacuation of over 200 Moroccan residents in Syria back to Morocco. "The embassy secured evacuating 200 Moroccans from different hotspots facing violence and security clashes in areas including Aleppo, Homs, Idleb, Daraa and Damascus. Ninety-eight percent of those evacuated are families," said the source. In a statement to a Moroccan news agency, the source said: "Priority was given to people who were affected badly, with their homes destroyed, or poor people who could not afford to leave Syria on their own." Evacuated citizens were reportedly issued air tickets and two-day stays in hotels in Damascus for them to fill out the requisite paperwork. The Moroccan ministry that looks after expatriate affairs has said the travelling costs were covered by the ministry's budget. Press reports stated that the consulate departments in the embassy in Syria estimated that 1200 Moroccans were currently living in Syria, most of them involved in trade, while others had technical jobs. There were some Moroccan women married to Syrian husbands, and about 20 Moroccan students. Some of the diaspora left their families decades ago and do not have an remaining familial connections in Morocco. There are also Palestinians with Moroccan nationality.  The Moroccan embassy since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, took several procedures by forming a reception in the embassy headquarters as a connection point with Moroccan citizens to get help, while urging them to leave Syria due to a continuous deterioration in security situation.