The Moroccan government has made a significant move against illegal immigration, arresting 152 individuals for allegedly using social media to incite unauthorised migration to the Spanish-occupied enclave of Ceuta.
The arrests were confirmed by a government spokesperson, Mustafa Baytas, who addressed the media in a late Thursday press conference.
This crackdown follows a surge in migration attempts over the past few days, where thousands, predominantly young Moroccans, converged on the northern city of Fnideq, which borders Ceuta, in hopes of crossing into the enclave.
However, their efforts were thwarted by what has been described by human rights activists as the largest security mobilization the city has ever seen.
“Every attempt has been foiled,” Baytas declared, marking the government’s first official response after days of heightened migratory activity. He reported that 3,000 individuals had attempted to cross the border illegally.
Ceuta, along with Melilla, another Spanish-held enclave, represents the only land borders between the European Union and Africa.
These enclaves frequently witness waves of migrants attempting to reach Europe. Following Madrid’s support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara region in 2022, Morocco and Spain have strengthened their cooperation to combat illegal migration.
Local media have circulated videos showing young men pelting security forces with stones as they tried to prevent them from approaching Ceuta’s borders.
In response to questions about intense migratory attempts last Sunday, Baytas expressed regret, noting, “Unfortunately, some young people are being incited by unknown entities through social media.”
In the first eight months of this year, Moroccan authorities have successfully foiled 45,015 illegal migration attempts to Europe, according to the Interior Ministry. The Spanish police reported that last month, hundreds of migrants utilized dense fog to swim towards Ceuta.
The heightened border surveillance has pushed an increasing number of migrants to attempt the longer and more perilous Atlantic route to the Canary Islands.
The recent incidents have sparked harsh criticism on social media and from opposition parties regarding the plight of young people, who are disproportionately affected by social inequalities in the kingdom.
Recent video clips showing several minors among those detained have prompted the public prosecutor to launch a judicial inquiry into the validity of these occurrences and the motives behind their publication. Official data indicates that one in four youths (ages 15-24), approximately 1.5 million, are neither employed nor in education.
As of mid-August, Moroccan authorities had prevented more than 11,300 attempts to cross into Ceuta and about 3,300 attempts into Melilla.
Besides these enclaves, irregular migrants, mostly Moroccans or those from sub-Saharan Africa, often take boats across the Mediterranean or the Atlantic to the Canary Islands.
This year, over 22,300 migrants have reached the Canary Islands from northwest African coasts as of August 15, marking a 12% increase over the previous year.
