Wave of migrants intercepted in Morocco after breaking through fence to reach Ceuta

On Sunday around seven o’clock in the afternoon, motivated by several influencers who proposed a mass attack, around a hundred Moroccans (mostly minors) They broke the barrier that separates Morocco from Spain and they tried to reach Ceuta. Thanks to the vast device deployed in Castillejos none of them managed to gain accessdespite my efforts, even by sea. Witnesses to the events reported hearing shots fired in the air and that the minors were taken in “friendly” police vans by Moroccan security forces.

Tensions were at their highest at the El Tarajal border in Ceuta after the attempted land entry of more than 200 migrants, due to the massive call to illegally access the autonomous city, demanded this Sunday on social networks. Morocco has launched a vast police deployment in the border town of Castillejos and in neighboring towns, while made dozens of arreststo prevent Moroccans and sub-Saharans from entering the Spanish city irregularly.

Shortly after the attempted assault, a group of Thirty immigrants tried to swim into Ceuta through the northern border post of Benzú, where they had moved due to the large police deployment deployed at the southern border of Tarajal. None of the migrants managed to reach the beachalthough this situation has motivated the deployment of the Civil Guard on the site, as well as the Salvamar Atria, Maritime Rescue, in anticipation of any attempt at entry.

In recent hours, several groups of migrants, between 300 and 400 people, they dispersed from the area closest to the Ceuta border, after a night and morning of tension at the border post.

Ceuta woke up in a tense calm. Normality prevailed, even if vigilance remained in the face of the new wave of migrants. The intermittent closure of the Tarajal border to prevent the approach of hundreds of migrants to the border perimeter in Morocco. The government delegation in Ceuta predicted that The border closure and opening would continue throughout the dayuntil groups of sub-Saharan and Maghreb migrants leave the border area.

This morning, the tranquility at the Tarajal customs was absolute, with a increase in the number of Civil Guard troops. Other agents of the armed institute have gone to Ceuta – without specifying their number – as well as a patrol boat of the Civil Guard, which remains moored at the Spanish quay in case its intervention is necessary.

Police sources reported that since 11 a.m. they have had to adopt the measure of intermittent closure of customs at be able to better control people trying to jump the fence on the side closest to customs.

There were more than 200 migrants who participated in this attempt to jump over the fence in the area known as Finca Berrocal, located next to the border of Ceuta. The Civil Guard remains deployed in the area with a special device although, for the moment, none of the migrants have managed to reach the double fence, located ten meters high.

night of tension

Morocco, for its part, also managed during the day to disperse dozens of people gathered on a mountain near the border with Ceuta to try to cross to the Spanish city, after a night during which groups of young people walked the streets from the city of Castillejos willing to try to get through by following the call on the Internet.

Plainclothes gendarmes deployed in the Tangier train stationa town near Ceuta, was waiting this Saturday evening at the doors of the cars of the convoys coming from Rabat to identify the young people suspected of wanting to participate in the attempt to enter Ceuta.

Officers arrested dozens of them in one trainand up to ten in a single car, both Moroccans and people of sub-Saharan origin, and they were transferred to a building at the station.

This call via social networks has already brought Morocco to arrested about 60 people for encouraging illegal immigration and for deploying numerous troops in the area to carry out raids and arrests so that migrants would abandon their attempts to reach Spanish territory.

For his part, the President of Ceuta, Juan Jesus Vivascalled for “tranquility” and stressed Morocco’s “collaboration” to stop the attempted mass entry of dozens of people from the neighboring country who were going to throw themselves into the sea.

In a statement, the regional president mentioned “tense and complex” situation from the border during attempts to enter from Morocco due to calls “launched” through social networks.

“Unprecedented” militarization

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights-Nador has denounced increased presence of security forces on the borders of Morocco with the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and denounced the lack of alternatives for the local population who lived from border trade.

“The exceptional and unprecedented militarization in the municipalities of Bani Ansar and Al Fennidq, on the border with the two occupied cities of Melilla and Ceuta, which relies on Rumors about mass migration “The fact that young Moroccans are being treated like children is a lie,” the NGO stressed in a message published on its Facebook account.

The group stressed that “there is no increase in the presence of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa”, which is why it considers that “all the protection of this border (…) is no longer justified“.

He thus regrets the “significant presence of public forces” in these border areas where “a stifling economic and social crisis has reigned since the closure of the borders” without the authorities proposing an alternative for them. “thousands of people who live from border trade.”

The migration crisis is getting worse

The migration crisis has worsened in recent months, with the Canary Islands and Ceuta as the main priorities. The arrival of irregular immigrants to the autonomous city through the border of El Tarajal tripled compared to 2023 data.

According to Interior data, the cumulative number of land entries into the autonomous North African city in 2023 at this point in the summer was 650 people. During the same period of the 2024 financial year, Ceuta was overwhelmed by a total of 1,917 immigrant arrivals. In addition, Morocco stopped the arrival of thousands of people during the same month.