Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Morocco thwarted an attempted mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta at the end of last week.
Converging reports, including Spanish news outlets, said police arrested at least 540 people after hiding for several days in wooded areas near the enclave.
Spanish news outlet El Faro de Ceuta reported that a campaign on social media is calling for another mass entry to Ceuta on October 15.
“For now, Morocco is taking the campaign seriously, announcing mobilizations in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region and investigating the channels that might be used for this purpose,” the news outlet said.
The report emphasized that security meetings between senior officials from the Moroccan police, gendarmerie, and the auxiliary forces were to “develop a preventive plan aimed at stopping such mass mobilizations.”
The news outlet also quoted Moroccan outlets, which reported on an increase in aerial patrols with helicopters.
Ceuta Actualidad reported the same news, noting that Moroccan authorities were able to manage an attempt to enter the enclave.
In January, Morocco’s Ministry of Interior said security services prevented 78,685 migration attempts in 2024.
The statistics indicate that the most migrants who were intercepted in the past year came from West Africa, accounting for 58% of the total. Migrants from the Maghreb region represented 12%, while 9% came from East and Central African countries.
Additionally, Moroccan authorities have dismantled 332 human trafficking networks during the year, and prevented 14 attempts to breach the borders of the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
The incident involved over 4,290 migrants in total. Moroccan authorities also rescued 18,645 migrants.
Morocco has been facing constant and growing migratory pressure, with many seeing the country as both a transit country and a destination.
