The family visit exchange operation, piloted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) between the Tindouf camps and the southern provinces of the Kingdom, continued on Thursday with the organisation of the 9th trip for the year 2013. According to a press release from the Moroccan Coordination office with MINURSO received by MAP, this exchange saw the participation of 240 beneficiaries belonging to 45 families. Thus, 79 people from the provinces of Laâyoune and Smara and belonging to 20 families boarded an aircraft at Hassan 1st Airport in Laâyoune bound for Tindouf, before 161 people belonging to 25 families from the Tindouf camps disembarked from the same plane. The operation took place in good conditions and all measures were taken to ensure a good welcome for the participants, the press release specifies. This new exchange brings to 19,281 the number of beneficiaries since the launch of this operation in March 2004, including 9,043 departing from the southern provinces of the Kingdom and 10,238 arriving from the Lahmada camps in Tindouf.