Spain reinforces Ceuta amid online calls for another border rush
Spain has bolstered police and military presence in its North African enclave of Ceuta after social media messages encouraged migrants to attempt another mass border breach on Saturday, according to reports. The move comes two weeks after tens of thousands of migrants rushed into the city on July 30, in an event that left dozens dead and triggered a political crisis in Europe.
Soldiers in combat fatigues stood watch outside supermarkets and official buildings in Ceuta on Friday evening, while police cars heavily patrolled the enclave's main avenues, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. Outdoor cafes remained packed with diners, and the downtown area was quieter than in the days immediately following the rush. On the Moroccan side, dozens of black-clad security personnel surveilled the beach in Fnideq, from which many migrants had swum around Ceuta's Tarajal breakwater.
Morocco said it was monitoring social media posts of unknown origin calling for a mass crossing on August 15 and warned it would prosecute organizers and participants, the Post reported. Local media showed a reinforced security apparatus near the borders with Ceuta and Melilla, including new razor wire on the fences. Authorities also prevented several groups from boarding trains and buses to the north in cities such as Casablanca, Fez and Kenitra, and witnesses told Reuters that some groups from sub-Saharan Africa were sidestepping security checks by taking mountainous routes to Fnideq. Schools in Fnideq had been turned into dormitories for security forces deployed near the border.
Arrests of suspected smugglers
Spanish police have arrested five people suspected of charging migrants thousands of euros to bring them from Ceuta to mainland Spain, Deutsche Welle reported. The arrests came less than a month after the border rush, in which over 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta irregularly, many swimming or crossing on foot.
The five were arrested after two investigations, one in Ceuta and one in La Linea de la Concepcion in Andalusia, which borders the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The suspects allegedly charged migrants up to 9,000 euros (about $10,500), Spain's Interior Ministry said, adding that the suspects used small boats to smuggle migrants from Ceuta to the mainland.
Four of those arrested are alleged members of a trafficking network that picked up undocumented migrants, sheltered them in houses or garages in Ceuta, and then smuggled them across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain. According to the Interior Ministry's statement, boat drivers were selected for their experience navigating fast and their ability to make evasive manoeuvres and avoid police checks.
Police described one crossing in which seven people were crammed into an overcrowded dinghy barely five meters long and two meters wide for five hours, without life jackets or other adequate safety equipment. The boat ran out of fuel and was left adrift in the Strait of Gibraltar, where strong currents, changing tides, high winds and heavy maritime traffic make the crossing extremely dangerous.
Death toll and aftermath
The number of deaths during the July 30 border rush remains disputed. At least 96 people died in the attempt, according to Spanish government estimates cited by the Jerusalem Post. Ceuta's leader Juan Jesus Vivas told EU lawmakers that some 100 people had died, while the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras put the death toll at 141, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
An estimated 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta in late July, according to multiple reports. Most have voluntarily returned to Morocco, but thousands remain in the enclave, sleeping in makeshift camps, on the street or on the beach, Deutsche Welle reported. More than 1,000 migrants were cleared from Trampolin Beach on Friday, following the evacuation of over 1,200 people the day before, who were moved to shelters. The Spanish government has said it will open temporary centers to ease the burden on Ceuta's overcrowded migrant shelters.
Security measures and EU rift
The crisis has sparked a rift within the European Union and fueled anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide, the Jerusalem Post reported. Italy temporarily suspended Schengen border-free travel with Spain in response, and Madrid retaliated by imposing border controls on travelers from Italy, according to Deutsche Welle.
Spain has since installed a maritime barrier and sent over 500 additional police officers from the mainland to Ceuta. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said about 5,000 migrants remained in the enclave, according to the Post. Officials have started screening adults and have decided more than 500 asylum cases, most of them rejected. Grande-Marlaska said that people who entered irregularly would not be allowed to stay in the enclave, travel to mainland Spain or obtain legal status, except in rare cases of extreme vulnerability, and would be returned to Morocco.
Voices from the ground
Among those who made the crossing, some now advise against repeating it. Driss Sadik, 22, from Fez, swam for five hours to reach Ceuta and advised others not to cross now, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post. Another migrant, Adil Jamil, 17, said that those who enter Ceuta aren't going to benefit and that the mass border rushes were 'planned by the people', reflecting a mix of hope and disillusionment among those who attempted the journey.