- Major efforts to combat migratory pressure
Saturday and Sunday were marked by hours of tension at the border posts between Morocco and Spain.
The areas between Nador and Melilla and between Tetuan and Castillejos and Ceuta have experienced difficult times due to the large influx of migrants who would try to cross the border posts clandestinely to reach Spanish territory from Moroccan soil.and this after several days of campaigns on social networks allegedly inciting people to carry out these illegal mass crossings during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
The coordination of Moroccan and Spanish security forces was important and an intense security operation has been deployed on both sides to secure these hot spots as much as possible.
In the case of Morocco, security authorities have been put on alert, deploying police, the Royal Gendarmerie and auxiliary forces to control the area and prevent any attempt at irregular border crossings. The Spanish authorities have also deployed several army armoured vehicles to intervene in the event of border attacks, with the help of the National Police and the Guardia Civil.
Moroccan authorities have also prepared special buses at the crossing point to transport and return people who attempt to emigrate irregularly. Positions were reinforced with armoured vehicles and trucks equipped with water cannons to avoid tense situations, and hundreds of arrests were made to protect border posts and promote security.
Police sources revealed that most of those arrested for attempting to illegally cross the border between Morocco and Spain, after being incited by various campaigns on social networks, are of Moroccan origin, and a large proportion of them are minors.
Security sources also indicated that among the arrested migrants who were planning to illegally cross the borders of Ceuta and Melilla There were Algerians, Tunisians, sub-Saharan Africans and even Syrians, according to local media such as Rue 20.
In the early hours of Sunday, Many migrants approached border posts, particularly in the Ceuta region, and security forces arrested hundreds of them and prevented them from entering the autonomous Spanish city.
There were very complicated moments because some migrants threw stones and tried to attack the security forces when they were prevented from passing, which led to clashes that were controlled by the police forces, who managed to restore calm.
Despite this, Several attacks have left police officers injured. Specifically, on September 15, Ceuta suffered up to three attempts to cross, all through the fence, organized by hundreds of sub-Saharan and Moroccan immigrants, the vast majority of whom were minors, according to various media outlets such as El Faro de Ceuta.
In addition to the throwing of stones at security forces, there were acts of vandalism and the setting of various objects on fire in the surrounding areas, particularly near the border post with Ceuta. Thus, the last hours in Castillejos (Fnideq), a Moroccan enclave near Ceuta, have been violent, putting the entire border area at risk.
Moroccan authorities have also continued to take strict measures to prevent the infiltration of migrantssetting up security checkpoints along the roads leading to Ceuta. Cars arriving in the area were carefully searched for people suspected of being illegal migrants.
Security elements of the Moroccan police, the royal gendarmerie and auxiliary forces managed to expel hundreds of people, to rehouse others and place minors in detention.
The scenario of the presence of hundreds of minors among the candidates for illegal migration through Ceuta was a surprise and left big questions about who is behind this campaign, which has exceeded all expectations, as there are minors who are not aware of the dangers involved in this crossing.
Major efforts to combat migratory pressure
Moroccan police have made great efforts in recent days to combat illegal migratory pressure. Thus, in recent days the police have arrested hundreds of people who allegedly intended to cross Spanish territory illegally, and dozens of migrants have also been expelled, mainly from Tunisia and Algeria, who have been sent back on flights via Tunisia because diplomatic relations between Morocco and Algeria have been severed since the Algerian state broke off relations in August 2021, accusing the Moroccan kingdom of “hostile acts” and due to deep political differences on issues such as the sovereignty of Western Sahara.
In the coming hours and days, security measures should be maintained to prevent possible irregular mass crossings by sea and land routes to reach the autonomous Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla from Moroccan territory.
These episodes have once again highlighted the fact that irregular migration remains a very important problem that Morocco and Spain continue to combat through close cooperation that continues to bear fruit, as in the present case with the strict control of the situation last weekend, especially in the border area near Ceuta.
The aim is to prevent mass illegal migration, which in many cases is encouraged by criminal gangs involved in people trafficking. Migrants who risk their lives to flee difficult situations in their countries in order to reach European territory and have a better future. Morocco and Spain are jointly fighting against this phenomenon that represents a significant migratory pressure and causes hundreds of deaths during the different migratory waves.
In August, for example, hundreds of migrants tried to swim to Ceuta, creating terrible images that the security forces are trying to prevent with their actions in the area.
Morocco and Spain have been working together for many years to combat illegal immigration and maintain security in border areas. This cooperation has become even closer in recent years thanks to the excellent diplomatic relations between the two countries, strengthened after the decision of the Spanish government to recognize Morocco’s proposal for Western Sahara of broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the “most serious, credible and realistic” way to resolve the Sahrawi conflict that has lasted for almost five decades, since Spain left the territory and the end of the colonial period in this region.
