Security at Ceuta tightens amid rumors of new migrant flow

Spain and Morocco have significantly bolstered security measures around the Spanish exclave of Ceuta amid concerns of a renewed migrant surge. The increased presence follows social media posts suggesting an organized attempt to cross the border on Saturday.

Morocco has stationed hundreds of security personnel and soldiers in Fnideq, a town adjacent to Ceuta. Reports indicate the Moroccan side of the border has been reinforced with barbed wire and fencing. Spain, since late July, has deployed an additional 300 police officers and 2,000 soldiers to the area, responding to a previous influx where thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta.

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We are doing this to deter anyone who wants to come illegally into Ceuta.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated the measures are intended to deter illegal entry. "None of them will stay in Ceuta, none of them will reach the Iberian Peninsula, and none of them will be granted legal status," he declared during a visit to the exclave, according to Politico.

The heightened alert is a direct response to online calls for a mass border crossing. Authorities are working to prevent a repeat of the situation in late July, when a large number of migrants managed to enter Ceuta.

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None of them will stay in Ceuta, none of them will reach the Iberian Peninsula, and none of them will be granted legal status.