Morocco detains 111 migrants after fresh Ceuta crossing push

Moroccan police arrested at least 111 people on Saturday as they tried to enter Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, after social media posts called for another mass crossing. The Interior Ministry said 109 of those detained were sub-Saharan African migrants and two were Moroccan citizens, held in or around Fnideq, the city opposite Ceuta.

The attempted crossing came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta on July 30, killing at least 96 people. Spanish news agency EFE reported Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse groups gathered on hills about 3 km from the border. Reuters saw hundreds of police, some in riot gear, returning from the hills. EFE and Spanish state broadcaster TVE said Morocco's Interior Ministry ordered their journalists to leave Fnideq without explanation.

Spain has installed a maritime barrier and sent more than 500 extra police to Ceuta, bringing the total to over 1,600. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said reinforcements would stay as long as needed, and migrants without the right to remain would be sent back to Morocco. About 5,000 migrants remain in Ceuta. Morocco said it would prosecute organisers of the crossing calls and had blocked buses and trains to the north, though some migrants were taking mountain routes.