Morocco arrests 152 people for allegedly inciting illegal migration to Ceuta

Rabat: Morocco has arrested 152 people, who will now face trial on accusations they used social media to incite an attempt at mass illegal migration into the adjacent Spanish enclave of Ceuta, a government spokesperson said.

In recent days, thousands of mostly young Moroccan men rushed to the northern city of Fnideq, bordering Ceuta, to attempt a crossing. Their efforts were thwarted by the heaviest security deployment ever seen the city, according to human rights activists there.

"All attempts have been foiled," spokesman Mustapha Baitas said at a news conference late on Thursday.

"Some 3000 people attempted illegal migration," he said, in a first official comment days after the crossing attempt.

Spain's two enclaves on Morocco's Mediterranean coast, Ceuta and Melilla, share the only land borders between the European Union and Africa. They sporadically experience waves of attempted crossings by migrants trying to reach Europe.

Morocco and Spain have strengthened their cooperation in addressing illegal migration since Madrid backed a Moroccan autonomy plan for disputed Western Sahara in 2022.

Videos shared by local media showed young people throwing stones at security forces as they were prevented from getting near the Ceuta border.

"No deaths have been reported," Baitas said, adding authorities acted in respect for the law.

In the first eight months this year, Morocco stopped 45,015 people from illegally migrating to Europe, according to interior ministry figures.

Last month, hundreds of migrants took advantage of a thick mist to swim to Ceuta, Spanish police said.

Tighter surveillance of Morocco's northern borders has prompted an increasing number of migrants to try the riskier and longer Atlantic route to the Canary Islands.