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Join on Telegram Doha – The Moroccan city of Fnideq and the adjacent border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta are gradually returning to normal following the recent clashes between migrants and security forces.
According to the Spanish news agency EFE, groups of young migrants are no longer visible in the streets and mountains surrounding the border crossing. A Moroccan security source told EFE that, “the situation is normalizing.”
Despite the restored calm, Moroccan authorities are maintaining a reinforced police presence at the border, with agents from the police, anti-riot units, and a water cannon truck visible in the area.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Tetouan has launched an investigation to verify the authenticity of images circulating on social media, which purportedly show detained migrants in a state of undress on the Moroccan side of the border.
The recent mass migration attempt, which took place on September 15, saw hundreds of mostly Moroccan young people, along with migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, Algeria, and Tunisia, gather in Fnideq and the surrounding mountains with the intention of crossing into Ceuta.
The attempt was organized through social media, catching the attention of both Moroccan and Spanish authorities.
Calls for a renewed ‘Great Escape’
As the situation stabilizes, new calls have emerged on social media for a repeat of the mass migration attempt, dubbed the ‘Great Escape’ by the media, on September 30.
Alejandro Ramírez, the government spokesperson in Ceuta, expressed confidence that the individuals behind these movements will be arrested before the proposed date.
Ramírez emphasized that the recent events appear to be a deliberate attempt to generate a climate of tension and confrontation rather than a spontaneous movement, stating, “This wave cannot be spontaneous; we need to investigate who is behind the calls on social media.”
According to experts in the field of migration, the successive attempts by irregular migrants to storm the Ceuta gate on specific dates, the first and most powerful of which was swimming under thick fog at the end of last August, raise the possibility of “tactical changes by migration networks in their quest to reach Spain.”
The same experts state that “it is difficult to explain the waves of migration solely by economic and social conditions, without considering the masterminds behind these scenes, given that social media sites have always tempted those seeking the European paradise, but this time it was more intense.”
The Democratic Left Youth, in a statement issued after a delegation visited Fnideq to investigate the situation, described the events as a “field trial of the failure of the Makhzen state to achieve real development in our country, far from propaganda policies, media distraction, and false promotion of achievements that have no impact on the ground.”
The organization held the Moroccan state fully responsible for the catastrophic situation experienced by Moroccan youth due to high unemployment rates, the massive increase in prices, and the failure of the so-called “social state project.”
Furthermore, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) has expressed anger and strong condemnation over the shocking scenes unfolding in northern Morocco since September 14.
In a statement, the AMDH described the situation as a “collective escape” of hundreds, if not thousands, of Moroccans, including minors, who have flocked to the region from various parts of Morocco to attempt irregular mass migration to the occupied city of Ceuta.
The association attributed the desperate attempts to the deteriorating economic, social, cultural, and political conditions in Morocco, characterized by a serious decline in rights and freedoms, systematic restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression, shrinking civil society space, rising unemployment, and reduced purchasing power due to continuously increasing inflation rates and rising prices.
Fatima Tamni, a member of the Democratic Left Federation, delivered a strongly worded statement to Morocco’s House of Representatives, highlighting the alarming situation in Fnideq.
Tamni stated, “On the night of Saturday, September 14, 2024, hundreds of young people and children attempted to head towards the occupied city of Ceuta in a bid for irregular migration, driven by despair over poverty, unemployment, and marginalization.”
The MP further stressed that “the reality starkly contrasts with the vision of social equity” pledged by the Aziz Akhannouch government, citing challenges such as unemployment, lack of sustainable job opportunities, and the high cost of living.
In an invitation sent to the President of the Committee on Interior, Territorial Communities, Housing, City Policy, and Administrative Affairs, a group of Moroccan parliamentarians of the Progress and Socialism Party requested an urgent meeting with the Minister of Interior to discuss the “backgrounds and circumstances of the attempts to undertake irregular mass migration.”
The invitation highlighted the need to dispel confusion surrounding these events, explain their underlying factors, and address the varying interpretations and readings of the situation.
The MPs emphasized the importance of examining, regardless of the possibility of fabricating specific facts or events, the factors that led young people and minors to respond to “suspicious calls” for collective and illegal migration, particularly in terms of public policies that are supposed to lift millions of young people out of alarming social situations.
Former Moroccan Minister of Justice Mohamed Ben Abdelkader has accused Algerian intelligence agencies of orchestrating the September 15 mass migration attempt, which he referred to as the “Castillejos Operation.”
In a statement on X, Ben Abdelkader claimed that the operation, which sought to exploit children in pursuit of the so-called “European paradise,” was masterminded by agencies from Morocco’s “eastern neighbor,” a clear reference to Algeria. He also criticized social media users for irresponsibly promoting the event.
Praise for Morocco’s ‘Great Effort’
Morocco’s efforts to curb irregular migration have been praised by Spanish officials. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior, as reported by El País, commended Morocco’s “great effort” in preventing irregular entries, stating that it has allowed for “the control of the situation.”
Meanwhile, Juan José Imbroda, the mayor of Melilla, highlighted in an interview with Canal Sur Radio that Moroccan authorities have demonstrated their ability to impede mass migrant crossings when they have the will to do so.
Recent data shows the scale of Morocco’s actions against irregular migration. From September 11-16 alone, Moroccan security services intercepted 4,455 individuals attempting to cross the border irregularly, including 3,795 Moroccan adults, 141 Moroccan minors, and 519 foreign nationals, among them 164 irregular migrants of Algerian nationality.
A security source disclosed that six organized assaults were made on the border fence separating Ceuta from Morocco, but no successful breaches were reported.
Since the beginning of the year, Moroccan forces have thwarted 45,015 migration attempts and dismantled 177 criminal networks involved in human smuggling. In August alone, Moroccan authorities reported foiling over 11,300 irregular migration attempts near Ceuta and more than 3,300 attempts near Melilla.
Despite these efforts, the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands remains the primary path for migrants, with over 22,300 arrivals recorded from January 1 to August 15, marking a 126% increase compared to the previous year.
As the situation in Fnideq returns to normal, attention turns to the proposed September 30 migration attempt and Morocco’s ongoing efforts to manage irregular migration along its borders, as well as the underlying economic, social, and political factors driving these desperate attempts to reach Europe.
