In recent days, Moroccan security forces have arrested 60 people for inciting and organizing a “massive illegal immigration operation” on social media in Ceuta, according to the National Security Directorate through their social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Thirteen of the arrests were made in various cities in Morocco, where individuals were encouraging people to enter Ceuta on Sunday, and the rest were intercepted as they arrived in trains and buses in Tangier, from where they were planning to head to the border of the Spanish autonomous city, about 75 kilometers to the east. All of those arrested in the plot for a collective crossing at the border of Ceuta are of Moroccan nationality.
The Directorate of Territory Security (the internal intelligence service) has recently investigated the increase in messages on social media encouraging entry into Ceuta and Melilla through “fake news.” Moroccan authorities have stated that during August, security forces prevented 14,648 irregular migrants from entering the Spanish North African cities by swimming along the coast or jumping over fences on land, which represents almost a third of all attempts to enter irregularly so far this year. Authorities in Morocco have reinforced control around the El Tarajal border crossing in Ceuta in the last few hours, increasing surveillance with a deployment of police and military forces, as well as installing barriers along the coast in the nearby Moroccan city of Fnideq (Castillejos under Spanish protectorate from 1912 to 1956).
In the last four days, Moroccan authorities reported deporting 39 irregular migrants of Algerian and Tunisian nationality who planned to enter Ceuta illegally from that area. According to a restricted report from the European Commission analyzing cooperation on deportations from 34 countries, including Morocco, 35,065 Moroccans received orders to leave the EU in 2023, but only 2,760 were actually expelled. Last year, Spain expelled around a thousand Moroccans, while receiving 14,000 irregular Moroccans. Closer events have a bigger impact. To stay updated, subscribe and keep reading.
