More than 150 people are being prosecuted by the Moroccan justice system for inciting illegal immigration, a government spokesman announced on Thursday, September 19, a few days after the failure of a major attempt to cross the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta (called Sebta in Morocco).
On Sunday, some 3,000 people tried to enter Ceuta illegally following calls on social media, announced Mustapha Baitas, government spokesman. “Unfortunately, some young people are encouraged [à immigrer] by strangers on social media »he lamented during a press conference. “In the context of the fight against calls for illegal immigration, 152 people were heard by a judge”He added, specifying that all attempts to pass had been ” failed “.
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent saw hundreds of migrants, mostly Moroccans and others from sub-Saharan Africa, climbing hills and trying to break through barbed wire in the Fnideq area on Sunday, as a heavy security presence was deployed and tear gas was fired. Grenades were fired. Videos shared on social media, which AFP was unable to authenticate, show men huddled together and sitting on the ground, dressed only in what appear to be swimming shorts. The public prosecutor’s office announced the opening of an investigation into the dissemination of these images to determine their authenticity.
In recent days, local media have been criticising the government, which is accused of providing a lack of prospects for young Moroccans who want to leave their country. According to official statistics, one in four young people aged 15 to 24 in Morocco is neither in the labour market, nor in training, nor in school.
The influx of migrants into Ceuta, the European Union’s (EU) only land border on the African continent (along with the other Spanish enclave of Melilla, further east), has intensified in recent weeks. Moroccan authorities thwarted more than 11,300 attempts at irregular migration in August alone, according to the Interior Ministry. The main route for migrants into Spain, however, remains the dangerous Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, which starts off the north-west coast of Africa. More than 22,300 migrants have arrived in the Canary Islands since 1999.Ahem From January to August 15, a year-on-year increase of 126%.
