Moroccan authorities arrested 111 people near Fnideq on Saturday, as messages circulated on social media calling for another mass attempt to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
One hundred and eleven migrants were apprehended on Saturday in and around the city of Fnideq, about three kilometers from the border with Ceuta, according to Moroccan security sources cited by Spanish media and Reuters. The majority of those arrested were from sub-Saharan Africa.
Moroccan police, including some officers in riot gear, used tear gas to disperse groups of migrants gathered in the nearby hills. The army, naval patrol boats, and drones were also deployed to the border earlier in the day.
This operation comes two weeks after approximately 78,000 migrants reached the enclave by sea in just a few hours, an episode during which 100 people lost their lives, according to the city's mayor. In response to this influx, Spain and Morocco had reinforced their security measures in the area.
Rabat had warned earlier in the week that it was monitoring "the circulation of posts and messages on social media of unknown origin" calling for a mass crossing this Saturday, threatening to prosecute organizers and participants. The Spanish daily El País reported that security at the access dike was "ten times greater than the day before."
Madrid, for its part, has mobilized more than 1,500 security agents to patrol the area, in addition to a metal fence and a floating barrier installed earlier in the week.
The crisis, which began in late July, has caused tensions between several European Union member states sharing the Schengen Area. Italy suspended its Schengen arrangement with Spain, with the support of Finland and Denmark, while the Czech Republic called for the temporary suspension of Madrid's membership in the system, although Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pointed out that Ceuta is not part of the Schengen Area.
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