Moroccan authorities have recently deported 39 individuals of Algerian and Tunisian nationalities who were planning to participate in a mass migrant assault on Ceuta. According to security sources cited by the Spanish news agency EFE, these illegal migrants were arrested in the city of Fnideq and repatriated to their countries of origin via Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca in two groups: 34 people on Sunday and 5 on Tuesday.
Due to the severing of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Algeria since 2021, Algerian migrants were also sent to Tunisia, according to the same sources.
In a related context, Moroccan police have arrested 60 individuals, including two minors, in about ten cities over the past three days on charges of inciting illegal immigration. The accused had called for a mass assault on Ceuta via social media platforms, scheduled for Sunday, September 15.
Among those arrested, all of Moroccan nationality, 13 individuals had posted content on social media inciting a mass migrant assault on the barrier between Morocco and Ceuta, while others had traveled to Tangier to participate in this operation.
The 13 arrests related to inciting illegal immigration were carried out by the judicial police in the cities of Casablanca, Tetouan, Larache, Ouezzane, Rabat, Oujda, Fez, Mohammedia, Missour, and Ouislane. The other 47 individuals were arrested in Tangier upon their arrival at the train and bus stations.
These actions come as part of Morocco’s intensified efforts to combat illegal immigration and maintain border security.