Morocco Arrests 294 Migrants Attempting to Enter Spains City of Ceuta

At least 294 migrants attempting to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta were arrested by Moroccan police on Aug. 15, according to state media.The migrants were identified as having come to Morocco from sub-Saharan Africa, Moroccan state broadcaster Medi 1 TV reported.The crossing attempt occurred after social media posts of “unknown origin” called for a mass crossing on Saturday, according to Moroccan authorities.Authorities also arrested 61 Moroccans accused of organizing the mass crossing attempt, the broadcaster said.Hundreds of Moroccan police officers attempted to disperse the crowd on the hills near the land border.The Epoch Times has contacted the interior ministries of Spain and Morocco for comment.Moroccan authorities stepped up security checks in Fnideq after an unprecedented influx of more than 72,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea and entered Ceuta on July 30. The mass movement happened after social media posts suggested Spain opened its border.Spain has since installed a floating maritime barrier and deployed more than 500 additional police officers to Ceuta in an effort to crack down on illegal immigration.“We’ll continue to deploy whatever personnel are necessary to restore normality as soon as possible and prevent events like those of July 30 from happening again,” Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez told reporters on Aug. 13.Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the North African coast and fully part of Spain and the European Union.Ceuta shares a land border with Morocco, and two weeks ago, thousands of people swam around the border fence, which stretches into the Mediterranean Sea, sparking tensions in the European Union and even prompting Italy to temporarily suspend its Schengen Area agreement with Spain.Moroccan migrants gather on the coastal road of Avenida Martínez Catena in the Spanish territory of Ceuta, in Spain, on July 31, 2026. Etienne Fauchaire/The Epoch TimesThe swim proved to be deadly, as at least 96 people died in the mass attempt to navigate the three-mile route to reach European soil.Most of the migrants who entered Ceuta in late July did not stay long, according to Grande-Marlaska.“We have reasonably established that 72,000 people irregularly entered Spain and 70,000 have already left,” Grande-Marlaska said.But according to city government estimates, at least 9,000 migrants still remain in the Spanish enclave.After the surge, shops and supermarkets in the city closed and there weren’t enough shelter opportunities, causing many to sleep in streets, parks, or beaches.Migrant Driss Sadik, 22, said he swam for five hours to reach Ceuta and strongly advised against it.“The important thing I would advise people trying to cross: Don’t cross now, my brothers. You’re only going to suffer,” Sadik said.Spanish Health Minister Mónica García Gómez denied that there was a “health collapse” on Aug. 16 but confirmed that approximately 5,800 migrants have received either primary care or hospital care, multiple Spanish media outlets reported.Reuters contributed to this report.