KEY POINTS
- Moroccan police stopped migrants from scaling the border fence near Ceuta.Â
- At least 60 people were arrested for encouraging a mass crossing on social media.
- Hundreds of potential migrants have been driven out of the border town of Fnideq.
Following appeals on social media for a mass migration attempt, Moroccan authorities on Sunday stopped scores of migrants from scaling a border fence in an attempt to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
The sole land boundaries between the European Union and Africa are shared by Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. Periodically, waves of migrants attempt to enter the enclaves in an attempt to reach Europe.
Arrests made for promoting illegal migration
In the latest effort, as shown in a video posted by regional news websites, scores of migrants assembled on top of a hill in Fnideq near the border on Sunday and started hurling stones at Moroccan police officials. They were stopped from getting close to the Ceuta fence by police.
According to Moroccan officials, at least 60 people were detained last week for encouraging migrants to try a mass crossing on social media.
Strengthened security measures to combat illegal crossings
According to Reuters, Moroccan security personnel have been prominently present in Fnideq since Friday. Mohammed Ben Aissa, a local human rights activist, said, “This is the heaviest security deployment ever in Fnideq with authorities acting pre-emptively by setting up multiple checkpoints on roads to northern Morocco.”
He said that hundreds of potential migrants had been driven out of Fnideq. A smaller number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa join the majority of migrants, who are young Moroccans. Many come to Fnideq on foot, hiding in the surrounding woodlands to avoid detection by the authorities, according to Zakaria Razzouki, a Fnideq-based rights activist.
According to him, Moroccan security personnel try to stop people from swimming to Ceuta by patrolling the beach and preventing crossings at the land boundary.
A Reuters request for comment was not answered by Morocco’s interior minister. Since they resolved a different diplomatic dispute in 2022, Morocco and Spain have increased their collaboration in combating illegal immigration.
Based on data from the interior ministry, Morocco prevented 45,015 individuals from entering Europe illegally in the first eight months of this year. According to Spanish authorities, hundreds of migrants swam to Ceuta last month, taking advantage of a dense mist.
Hundreds of migrants swam to Ceuta last month, taking advantage of a dense mist.
