Morocco Arrests Hundreds of Migrants Near Ceuta Border in New Crackdown
Theo Al Jazeera English
Moroccan authorities arrested nearly 300 migrants and 61 suspected smugglers attempting to cross into Spain's Ceuta enclave. The crackdown follows a mass migration surge earlier this month that left thousands stranded and sparked calls for new crossings.
Moroccan security forces have arrested hundreds of migrants attempting to reach Spain's Ceuta enclave by land and sea, as authorities tighten security along the border following calls for new mass crossings.
State broadcaster Medi 1 TV reported that 294 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were detained on Saturday while trying to enter Ceuta. Authorities also arrested 61 Moroccans accused of facilitating the crossings, according to the outlet.
The latest attempt comes two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants, driven by poverty and misinformation, surged into Ceuta in one of the region's most severe migration crises. At least 90 people have died on both sides of the border, according to official figures, while human rights groups report a higher death toll.
The crossings followed social media posts urging people to make their way to Ceuta, a Spanish city on Morocco's northern coast.
In response, Moroccan and Spanish authorities have bolstered security forces in the area.
'We don't want to go back to Morocco'
On Sunday, hundreds of migrants staged a protest at a popular beach in the city, urging Spanish authorities to grant them asylum rather than send them back to Morocco.
They are among an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people still stranded in Ceuta after the mass crossing two weeks ago.
With the city's resources overwhelmed, most migrants are living in squalid conditions at Trampolin beach or on the outskirts, waiting for a chance to continue their journey to mainland Europe.
“We sleep by the sea, in the cold and the stench. We are suffering a lot,” Ayoub Elarroud, a Moroccan from Tetouan, told Reuters, adding that police were blocking them from entering the city center.
Protesters waved Spanish flags and banners reading “We don't want to go back to Morocco” and “We are human too,” while chanting slogans like “We are tired” and “We need a solution.”
Earlier this week, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said migrants who entered illegally would not be allowed to stay in Ceuta, move to mainland Spain, or have their status regularized, except in certain vulnerable cases.
A senior Moroccan diplomat previously told the AP that more than 20,000 Moroccan security personnel are deployed daily along the border with Ceuta, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Thousands of migrants from across Africa and beyond arrive in Morocco each year, fleeing conflict, poverty, and instability, seeking a route into Europe. Many attempt to reach Ceuta or Melilla, Spain's other enclave on Morocco's northern coast, hoping to eventually make it to mainland Spain for better economic opportunities.
