Rabat – A mass irregular migration from northern Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta is making international headlines once again.
Spanish news outlets said that as many as 100 irregular Moroccan migrants, including minors, entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Monday morning by swimming.
EFE said that the operation took place from 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.
“Most of the entries have been carried out through the northern border of Benzu, where entire families with several minors have managed to enter,” El Periodico reported.
Yahoo quoted EFE saying that around 145 irregular Moroccan migrants entered the Spanish enclave today.
The government delegation said that it conveyed the information about the irregular entries to Ceuta to the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs so that appropriate measures can be taken to proceed with the repatriation of the people back to their country.
The mass irregular migration from northern Morocco is the second of its kind in less than a month.
In April, photos and videos of a mass irregular migration attempt in Fnideq, near Tetouan in northern Morocco went viral.
Photos showed dozens of Moroccans lining up next to the beach to swim from the Moroccan town to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on a cold and rainy day.
The irregular migration operations in the past few months are not exclusive. Moroccan authorities in collaboration with international partners continue to abort migration attempts.
Security services in Morocco, including the royal navy, the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), and the National Directorate of National Security (DGSN) collaborate together to combat irregular migration, human trafficking, among other criminal activities.
In 2020, police detained 466 suspects with links to 123 human trafficking networks.
They also prevented 9,179 Europe-bound irregular migrants, including 6,162 of foreign nationalities, from leaving Morocco.
