Ceuta: Morocco reports 111 arrests after border crossing attempt

Moroccan security forces apprehended at least 111 individuals on Saturday who were attempting to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The Moroccan Interior Ministry reported that the group comprised 109 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and two Moroccan nationals. This action followed apparent online calls for another mass border crossing.

Reports indicate that Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse groups of migrants in the hills approximately three kilometers from the border, while the border crossing itself remained relatively calm. Spanish journalists from Efe and the Spanish state broadcaster TVE were reportedly instructed by the Moroccan Interior Ministry to leave the Moroccan border town of Fnideq immediately.

According to media reports, authorities have erected additional barriers of barbed wire in Fnideq, and water cannons are on standby. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced on Thursday that increased personnel would be deployed to "restore normality as quickly as possible" and prevent a recurrence of the events of July 30. He stated that migrants without legal residency would be returned to Morocco.

These heightened security measures on both sides of the border are a response to an unprecedented surge in migrant arrivals two weeks prior. On July 30, up to 80,000 migrants reached Ceuta, and at least 96 people died attempting to reach European soil, though NGOs estimate the death toll to be much higher. Grande-Marlaska stated that approximately 5,000 migrants are currently believed to be in Ceuta.

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restore normality as quickly as possible