Morocco Stops Second Wave of Migrants Trying to Storm Ceuta Border

Moroccan security forces intercepted dozens of migrants attempting to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Saturday, deploying tear gas to disperse crowds descending through the arid hills near the border town of Fnideq. Video circulating online shows security personnel in high-visibility vests forming lines to block the group, with smoke from the tear gas visible as officers pushed back the advancing crowd. Moroccan officials confirmed at least 111 people were arrested in the initial operation near Fnideq, though later reports on Saturday put the total closer to 294 people detained across the broader security sweep, the vast majority of them sub-Saharan African migrants.

The attempted crossing came after calls circulated on social media urging a repeat of the massive breach on July 29 and 30, when more than 70,000 people rushed the border into Ceuta in under 48 hours, overwhelming the tiny territory's capacity and resulting in dozens of deaths, with some estimates exceeding 90. That earlier surge triggered a diplomatic firestorm between Madrid and Rabat, prompted rapid returns of migrants back across the border, and led both governments to reinforce security along the frontier in an effort to prevent a repeat. Spanish opposition lawmakers have accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of failing to get ahead of the crisis, noting he remained on holiday even as intelligence services reportedly flagged the renewed online mobilization days in advance.

Saturday's smaller-scale attempt suggests the reinforced Moroccan security presence around Fnideq is, for now, managing to blunt copycat efforts, with local police chartering buses to return detained migrants to other parts of the country. Still, officials on both sides of the border say the underlying pressure driving mass migration toward Ceuta has not eased, and with social media continuing to fuel calls for further crossing attempts, authorities are bracing for the possibility that Saturday's incident will not be the last. The episode adds to a summer of mounting strain on Spain's northern African enclaves, reigniting debate in Madrid over border policy and Morocco's role in controlling migration flows toward Europe.