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🇮🇹 Italy /Conflict & Security

Morocco blocks hundreds of migrants heading for Ceuta

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Moroccan security forces stopped hundreds of migrants, mostly sub-Saharan Africans, from reaching the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
  • The group had hidden in a mountainous area near Fnideq, south-west of Ceuta, as authorities reinforced measures to prevent mass arrivals.
  • This action follows a crisis in late July where thousands of migrants crossed the border, resulting in dozens of deaths on the Spanish side.

Moroccan security forces on Tuesday blocked hundreds of migrants, predominantly from sub-Saharan Africa, from attempting to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The group had been hiding in a mountainous area near the town of Fnideq, south-west of Ceuta.

Thousands of Moroccan security personnel are involved in a reinforced operation to prevent large-scale arrivals in Ceuta. This comes after social media appeals circulated ahead of August 15th. The dispersed migrants remained in the area, according to security sources cited by the Efe agency.

The heightened security measures were implemented following a significant crisis on July 30-31. During that period, approximately 80,000 migrants crossed the border, leading to 82 deaths on the Spanish side of the frontier, according to data from the Ceuta Institute of Legal Medicine. Humanitarian organizations, including Caminando Fronteras, estimate at least 141 victims on both sides of the border.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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