Ceuta and its sister territory of Melilla, wedged on the North African kingdom’s Mediterranean coast, have lengthy been a magnet for irregular migrants, being the one European Union territories that share a land border with the African continent.
On Sunday, tons of of individuals, together with Moroccans and migrants from different elements of Africa in addition to some minors, headed in direction of the village of Fnideq, which abuts Ceuta, earlier than being despatched again by Moroccan police, the AFP photographer mentioned.
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Native media reported one other mass crossing try earlier on Sunday, equally foiled by Moroccan police.
Safety forces elevated their deployment round Fnideq over the weekend following calls on social media to try the crossing into Ceuta on Sunday.
In line with native media, tons of of younger Moroccans nonetheless managed to succeed in Fnideq, with police apprehending them throughout the night time and sending them again to their hometowns elsewhere in Morocco.
A police supply instructed AFP that 60 individuals have been arrested between Monday and Wednesday for “fabricating and disseminating false info on social media” that inspired “the organisation of collective unlawful immigration operations”.
The Moroccan inside ministry has mentioned that in August alone, authorities blocked greater than 11,300 makes an attempt to cross into Ceuta and a few 3,300 into Melilla.
The principle route out of Morocco for irregular migrants hoping to succeed in Spain stays by sea.
Greater than 22,300 migrant arrivals have been registered this yr by August 15 within the Canary Islands within the Atlantic Ocean, marking a 126-percent enhance from 2023.