Rabat – 153 irregular migrants, originating from sub-Saharan countries, mostly Guinea, crossed the border between Morocco and Spanish exclave, Ceuta, today, August 30. Five Spanish police officers sustained minor injuries during the forced crossing, according to the Spanish newspaper El Faro de Ceuta.
Around 400 migrants attempted to cross the borders, through Belyounech, near the city of Fnideq. Nine migrants sustained injuries and were transferred to the local hospital of Fnideq, while Moroccan authorities arrested 90 others. Search operations are ongoing in order to arrest the remaining migrants involved in the attempt, explains the Moroccan press agency (MAP).
Out of the 153 migrants who succeeded in crossing the border, 55 have already been sent back to Morocco, while others will be sent back to their home countries.
Moroccan authorities have not yet announced if they will take the same measures with the arrested migrants.
The attempted en masse crossing Ceuta borders is the first incident of its kind of 2019. The last similar attempt dates back to 21 October 2018, when more than 300 migrants attempted to cross Ceuta border, and around 200 succeeded.
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