A massive deployment of Moroccan security forces has prevented hundreds of migrants from jumping the border fence with Ceuta on several occasions this Sunday following a viral campaign that encouraged people to break into the autonomous city launched in recent weeks through social networks. Since Friday, Morocco has sent an unprecedented contingent of Gendarmerie and other security forces to the coastal town of Fnideq (Castillejos), bordering Ceuta, with Hundreds of agents and vehicles, as well as eight boats. On Sunday night, a second attempt was made to board the fence after the one registered in the morning. The first of the two separation fences was broken in some parts, but the migrants did not manage to enter Spanish territory, according to Interior sources, who specified that the break occurred in “the Moroccan fence”, where the “deterrent presence” of the security forces prevented them from completing the jump. The situation has been extremely tense in the area since the early hours of the morning, although no irregular entry of migrants has been registered during the day.
Interior sources have confirmed that no irregular entry has been recorded in Ceuta thanks to the “permanent” collaboration with the Moroccan security forces. “The entire border perimeter is monitored by the State Security Forces and Corps and Morocco has guaranteed the immediate return of those who cross the fence, in accordance with the criteria established by law,” they added.
Several buses were sent to the Tarajal crossing to transport the migrants who participated in the attempt to cross the fence on Sunday morning to take them to areas far from the Spanish border. Groups of people who tried to swim were also intercepted on the beaches of Castillejos (south), where the body of a Moroccan who was presumed to have drowned was found, and Beliones (north). When night fell, the attempts were repeated.
Despite raids in neighbourhoods and villages, and the barriers and checkpoints that line the access roads around the Spanish North African city, between 200 and 400 young Moroccans and people from Islamic and sub-Saharan countries reached the security fence first at around 11:00 in the area known as the Berrocal estate, where mass jumps have already taken place in the past, and threw stones at the Maghrebi agents. The Civil Guard also deployed numerous officers with riot gear on the Spanish side until the incident was brought under control after midday. The queues and delays at the Tarajal border lasted for hours due to the searches and security checks. The risk of a significant influx of migrants has forced the intermittent closure of border facilities throughout the day, according to government sources, until the groups of irregular migrants who gather in the vicinity disperse.
“We meet on 15-9”, “Hopefully on 15-9” or “15-9 Fnideq-Ceuta”, have been the slogans launched in the form of viralized digital tags, in a campaign that threatens to overwhelm police deployments on both sides of the border. Tensions rose on the night of Saturday to Sunday in Castillejos, where Moroccan security forces chased migrants on the run and violent incidents with stone throwing were recorded, captured in images posted on social networks. Several residents contacted by phone report that the coastal area of Fnideq has been lined with fences for a week to prevent groups of migrants from swimming to Ceuta after skirting the border jetty of El Tarajal, where hundreds of swimmers have been since mid-August. They tried to enter Spain illegally every day.
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Moroccan authorities have confirmed that, during the past month, security forces have prevented 14,648 irregular migrants from breaking into Spanish North African cities, by swimming along the coast or jumping over fences on land, which represents almost a third of all aborted attempts at irregular entry so far this year. In light of the events of the last few hours, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior has reinforced the deployment of the Civil Guard with 40 agents, a helicopter and drones in Ceuta and has sent a high-altitude patrol boat to monitor the Ceuta maritime divide, government sources say. Police intervention units are also kept on alert, while the Army remains awaiting instructions in case their activation is deemed necessary. Migrant pressure is expected to continue in the coming days, which is why the Government is keeping the current reinforced deployment active. Maria Martin reports.
Moroccan authorities have stepped up surveillance at the Tarajal and Benzú jetties to prevent swimmers from entering, and at the Tarajal land crossing and the perimeter fence, where the attempted assaults finally took place. At the same time, police checkpoints have multiplied on the roads of northern Morocco. Dozens of arrests have been made at points such as the Tetouan bus station or the Tangier railway station, Efe reports from the area. Groups of young people were still gathered at dusk on Saturday on forest tracks and mountains near Ceuta, on the road leading to Fndieq and even on the Tangier motorway. Some shouted “Allah is the greatest!” and others carried stones or glass bottles.
In recent days, at least 60 people have already been arrested for inciting and organizing a “massive illegal immigration operation” in Ceuta on social media. A dozen of the detainees were located in various cities in the Maghreb country – from where they encouraged people to break into Ceuta this Sunday on X, Facebook or Instagram – and the rest were intercepted upon arrival on trains and buses. The Moroccan authorities have also reported that they have deported this week 39 irregular migrants of Algerian and Tunisian nationality who were planning to enter Ceuta illegally.
The Moroccan Directorate General for Territorial Security (internal intelligence service) is investigating on social media the sharp increase in messages encouraging entry into Ceuta and Melilla through “fake news”. One of the hoaxes supposedly encouraged people to take advantage of the fact that this Sunday the Operation Crossing the Strait ends, a massive flow of people in which 1.7 million passengers, mostly Moroccan emigrants in Europe, have crossed by boat between Morocco and Spain on round trips for three months.
In a statement, Jucil, the majority association of civil guards, defended the “police shield” established on both sides of the Ceuta fence and reminded the government that it has the obligation to protect the borders against the entry of irregular migrants. However, the professional association called on the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska, to demand greater collaboration from Morocco in border control and in the fight against mafias that traffic in human beings.
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