Moroccan security forces detained more than 100 people on Saturday as groups of migrants again tried to enter Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast.
Video circulating online showed large crowds, many reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa, moving toward Ceuta. The push follows a mass arrival weeks earlier in which more than 70,000 people reached the autonomous city, with many dying along the way, and comes amid a social media disinformation campaign urging people to head there.
Moroccan officials had said earlier this week they were taking steps to prevent such crossings. Reuters, citing a source in Morocco’s Interior Ministry, reported that hundreds of police were deployed and at least 111 people were arrested; officers reportedly used tear gas to break up the crowds.
Spain’s ABC newspaper reported hundreds of people were travelling toward the enclave, which Morocco does not recognise as Spanish territory. The groups moved through the mountains near Fnideq, a coastal town in northern Morocco, apparently to avoid security checkpoints.
By Saturday afternoon, Moroccan news outlet Le360 reported as many as 294 arrests, including 46 Moroccans, with the rest from sub-Saharan Africa.
Earlier, Jaime de los Santos, a Spanish lawmaker and deputy secretary of education for the conservative People’s Party, accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of failing to respond to the crisis that began on July 30. Sanchez is on holiday at the Royal Residence of La Mareta in Lanzarote, a destination often used by Spanish prime ministers.
“It’s Saturday, August 15th, and the week of the eclipse has already passed. Sixteen days have gone by since Spain was invaded by more than 80,000 Moroccan citizens, and Pedro Sanchez is still hiding in La Mareta without giving any explanation, without putting a stop to this crisis, and using his ministers to cover up his shameful actions,” De los Santos said in a statement.
Around 72,000 people entered Ceuta in late July, and at least 96 people died attempting to reach the enclave. On Thursday, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said about 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta.
