Moroccan authorities have arrested at least 111 individuals attempting to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, following a security crackdown prompted by online calls for another mass border crossing. The attempt comes two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into the territory, an incident that heightened political tensions across the European Union and stoked anti-immigration rhetoric from far-right parties globally. At least 96 people died during that earlier attempt to reach European soil.
A Moroccan Interior Ministry official told Reuters that those detained included 109 sub-Saharan African migrants and two Moroccan nationals, apprehended in and around Fnideq, the border city facing Ceuta. Spanish news agency EFE reported that Moroccan police fired tear gas to disperse groups gathered on hills roughly three kilometres from the border. Reuters reporters later observed hundreds of police officers, including riot units and plain-clothes officers, returning from the area.
In response to the recent surge, Madrid has erected a maritime barrier and deployed more than 500 extra police officers from mainland Spain, bringing the total security presence in Ceuta to over 1,600. The Interior Ministry confirmed the reinforcements would stay as long as necessary. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated that those entering irregularly would not be permitted to stay in Ceuta, travel to mainland Spain, or receive legal status, except in rare cases involving severe vulnerability.
Around 5,000 migrants remain inside Ceuta, according to the minister. Hundreds were seen taking cover from scorching temperatures under makeshift bamboo shelters along the urban beach of El Trampolin. Many young people who entered Ceuta on July 30 were seen fishing, swimming, or washing along Tarajal beach on Friday. Some migrants, however, warned others not to attempt the crossing, citing the risks and lack of benefits. Driss Sadik, a 22-year-old from Fez who swam for five hours to reach the enclave, urged others not to attempt the crossing, saying, ‘The important thing I would advise people trying to cross: Don’t cross now, my brothers. You’re only going to suffer.’
The warning was echoed by 17-year-old Adil Jamil, who explained that the mass crossings were ‘planned by the people’ who select a date, gather in Fnideq, and attempt the crossing together to find strength in numbers. Jamil stated that those who enter ‘aren’t going to benefit from anything. There will just be more and more of us, and they won’t find a solution for all.’
