Morocco: Violent clashes between security forces and hundreds of Moroccans attempting mass exodus to Spain

Violent clashes erupted on Sunday night between Moroccan security forces and hundreds of Moroccan citizens attempting a mass exodus to the Spanish coast, aiming to reach the city of Ceuta.

In response to Spanish pressure, Moroccan authorities prevented hundreds of illegal migrants from accessing the border with Ceuta on Sunday. Nevertheless, many continue to gather in the nearby mountains and roads, planning to retry their luck.

Recently, many young Moroccans, including minors and women, have been arriving in the Moroccan city of Fnideq, near the border with Ceuta. Unlike previous episodes where Moroccan authorities had shown a tolerant or even encouraging attitude towards the issue, the Makhzen regime has deployed extensive measures to stop them.

Spanish authorities detected widespread social media calls in Morocco encouraging young people to cross the borders and thus compelled the Moroccan authorities to cooperate in thwarting these attempts.

Videos shared on social media showed security agents in Fnideq chasing young people attempting to migrate irregularly to Ceuta, which turned to violent clashes and injuries among security agents who were later hospitalised.

In the videos, young people, including several Moroccan minors, can be seen chanting “Ceuta… Ceuta” as they headed in groups towards the border post separating the two countries and throwing stones at Moroccan police.

During the day, and according to data from the Spanish police reported by Iberian media, around 200 young people attempted to cross the double barrier separating Spain and Morocco at the Tarajal crossing, and a group of about thirty migrants failed to swim across.

The unsuccessful attempts did not stop these young people, as they continued to gather in the nearby mountains and on the roads to try to access Spain while throwing stones at security agents.

This phenomenon follows an incident at the end of August when hundreds of people endeavoured to reach Ceuta by swimming from Morocco, with a rate of 1,500 attempts in a single night.