Hundreds of migrants arrested near Ceuta border in latest crackdown

What the report says

Moroccan security forces arrested hundreds of migrants near the border with Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on Morocco’s northern coast, in a renewed crackdown on irregular crossings. According to Moroccan state broadcaster Medi 1 TV, 294 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were detained on Saturday while trying to enter Ceuta by land and sea, along with 61 Moroccans accused of helping organize the attempts.

The arrests came after authorities increased security in the area following online calls for a new mass crossing. The latest attempt followed a larger surge two weeks earlier, when more than 72,000 people moved toward Ceuta in what the report described as one of the region’s deadliest migration crises in years. Official figures put the death toll from that episode at at least 90, while rights groups said the number was higher.

The article also described continuing strain inside Ceuta, where an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 migrants remained after the earlier crossing. Many were living in difficult conditions on a beach or in surrounding areas while waiting to move on, and some protested for asylum rather than return to Morocco. Spanish authorities have said people who entered irregularly will generally not be allowed to remain in the enclave or travel onward, except in rare cases of extreme vulnerability.

The broader context, as reported by Al Jazeera, is that Morocco and Spain are trying to prevent repeated mass movements toward Ceuta and another enclave, Melilla, as migrants from across Africa continue to seek routes into Europe.