Doha – The Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Tetouan Court of Appeal has ordered an investigation into the origin and circumstances surrounding the online sharing of photographs that appear to show alleged migrants in vulnerable situations near the city of Fnideq.
The images, which went viral, depict individuals wearing only swimwear, seated on the ground in close proximity to Moroccan Auxiliary Forces vehicles, as well as a group of people gathered in front of a concrete wall.
The probe aims to ascertain the veracity of these images and their connection to recent events in Fnideq.
In a press release, the King’s Prosecutor General stated that the National Brigade of Judicial Police (BNPJ) has been tasked with conducting the investigation.
The findings and any potential legal consequences will be communicated to the public upon the conclusion of the inquiry.
Local sources in the prefecture of M’diq-Fnideq have indicated that the circulated photos and video clips are not related to the current situation in Fnideq.
The images showing Auxiliary Forces vehicles are reportedly from an incident that occurred several days prior, in which public forces thwarted an attempt at illegal migration by sea to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
The individuals in the photos, clad only in swimwear, had been rescued from the water by the authorities.
The second photograph, which shows people seated in front of a concrete wall, has also been called into question by the same sources.
They expressed doubts about its connection to the ongoing events in Fnideq and even its relation to incidents recorded in Morocco.
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Journalist and art critic Ahmed Eddaferi addressed the issue in a Facebook post, warning that the first image is AI-generated. According to Eddaferi, the image was created using artificial intelligence (AI) to merge a picture of Moroccan Auxiliary Forces vehicles with another image of events that did not occur in Morocco.
The intention behind the manipulated photo was to suggest that the Moroccan Auxiliary Forces treat the population in the same manner as occupying forces elsewhere, he said.
The investigation comes amidst a surge in migration attempts from Fnideq to Ceuta. In the span of just six days, from September 11-16, Moroccan security services intercepted 4,455 individuals attempting to irregularly cross the border, including 3,795 Moroccan adults, 141 Moroccan minors, and 519 foreign nationals, among them 164 irregular migrants of Algerian nationality.
This recent development is part of a broader context of increased migration attempts from Morocco to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
The Moroccan authorities reported thwarting over 11,300 irregular migration attempts in August alone in the area near Ceuta, and more than 3,300 attempts were foiled near Melilla during the same period.
Since the beginning of the year, Moroccan security forces have prevented 45,015 migration attempts and dismantled 177 criminal networks involved in human smuggling.
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, a 126% increase compared to the previous year.
