Algeria has changed the name of the border since independence and renamed it “Akid Lotfi” after one of the leaders of the Algerian revolution, Morocco has retained the name given by the French.

The Morocco – Algeria border has been closed since 1994 and relations between the 2 countries has not been good for some time. The whole border lies within a security zone and it is an uncharted area for border enthusiasts generally. We visited this point as part of the IBRG MOMEX-24 expedition, in our pre trip planning we identified the Ahfir – Boukanoun and Zouj Beghal – Akid Lotfi border crossings as ones we would like to visit, there was very limited information available on line and few if any photos. As such we were unsure what we would find.

The Zouj Beghal border post between Morocco and Algeria, opens exceptionally. Normally to facilitate the transfer of remains of deceased citizens and in some instances to allow aid conveys from Europe to Gaza. The repatriation of migrants who left Morocco for Spain and through error or accident ended up in Algeria.

The Moroccan Control Point

The dual carriageway stops suddenly at the Moroccan control post. There are barriers across the road and Stinger spike strips across the road to prevent any vehicles going further. More annoyingly there was a uniformed officer who blew his whistle and indicated that there was no photography allowed.

The border and Algeria beyond

With a restaurant at the nearby go carting venue, it was possible to park the car and have a coffee and cake and plan our next steps.

Rail Crossing Point

On our old school paper Marco Polo Map there was a railway line marked 1 km SE of the road crossing point. This was the last POI from our day on the Moroccan – Algerian border and we were slightly hesitant in trying to achieve too much and getting into any local difficulty. In the end we followed a track alongside the clearly dilapidated tracks to within 500m of the border where the military zone was clearly visible.

Should we have gone further – maybe.