Moroccan forces arrested hundreds of migrants trying to enter Ceuta by land and sea. The crackdown shows renewed border pressure after a recent deadly migration crisis.
Moroccan security forces have arrested hundreds of migrants who were trying to reach the Spanish exclave of Ceuta by land and sea, according to Moroccan state television. The action came after calls on social media for a new mass crossing and as authorities tightened security along the border.
State broadcaster Medi 1 TV said on Sunday that 294 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were arrested on Saturday while attempting to enter Ceuta. It also reported that 61 Moroccans were arrested for allegedly facilitating the migration attempts.
The attempted crossings followed a rise in social media posts urging migrants to head to Ceuta, a Spanish city on Morocco’s northern coast. In response, Moroccan and Spanish authorities increased security and restricted movement towards the area.
The latest attempt came two weeks after tens of thousands of would-be migrants, driven by poverty and misinformation, rushed towards Ceuta in one of the region’s deadliest migration crises. According to official figures, at least 90 people died on both sides of the border, though human rights groups put the number higher.
Morocco’s interior ministry did not respond to AP’s questions on the latest arrests or on how many security personnel had been deployed around the border to prevent another migration push. A senior Moroccan diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, had earlier said that more than 20,000 Moroccan security personnel are deployed along the border with Ceuta every day, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Every year, thousands of migrants from across Africa and elsewhere travel to Morocco, fleeing conflict, poverty and instability and seeking a route into Europe. Many try to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish exclave on Morocco’s northern coast, in the hope of eventually reaching mainland Spain and better economic opportunities.
The latest arrests underline the continuing pressure around Ceuta, where authorities on both sides are trying to prevent another large-scale crossing after the recent deadly crisis.
With PTI Inputs
