FNIDEQ, Morocco: Moroccan police arrested at least 111 people on Saturday as they tried to reach Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, following calls on social media for another mass border crossing.
The arrests came only two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta in a chaotic surge. At least 96 people died while attempting to reach European territory, turning the crossing into one of the region’s deadliest migration crises in recent years. The incident also increased political pressure across the European Union and gave fresh strength to anti-immigration groups, according to Reuters.
A Moroccan Interior Ministry source said those detained included 109 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and two Moroccan citizens. They were arrested in and around Fnideq, the Moroccan city that lies opposite Ceuta.
Spanish news agency EFE reported that Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse groups gathered on hills about three kilometres from the border. Reuters witnesses later saw hundreds of officers, including riot police and plain clothes personnel, returning from the area. Moroccan authorities also ordered journalists from EFE and Spanish broadcaster TVE to leave Fnideq without explaining the decision.
Security was also heavily reinforced inside Ceuta. Spanish soldiers guarded supermarkets, while police patrolled the enclave’s streets. Madrid installed a maritime barrier and sent more than 500 additional officers from mainland Spain, bringing the total security deployment to more than 1,600.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the reinforcements would remain as long as necessary. He added that most migrants who entered irregularly would be returned to Morocco and would not be allowed to remain in Ceuta, travel to mainland Spain or receive legal status, except in cases of extreme vulnerability.
Around 5,000 migrants were still in Ceuta, according to the minister. Some were sheltering from the intense heat under makeshift bamboo structures on El Trampolin beach.
Morocco had warned earlier in the week that it was monitoring anonymous online messages encouraging a new crossing on August 15. Authorities introduced checkpoints, stopped groups travelling north and deployed officers along mountain routes leading to Fnideq.
Some migrants who crossed earlier urged others to abandon the dangerous journey. “Don’t cross now,” said Driss Sadik, a 22 year old who claimed he swam for five hours to reach Ceuta. “You’re only going to suffer.”
