Migrants in Morocco are repeatedly trying to reach the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla or the Canary Islands – recently there has apparently been an increase again. The Moroccan army says it has now prevented hundreds of people from doing so.
Over the turn of the year, hundreds of migrants in Morocco apparently tried to reach the Spanish North African exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla as well as the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain. Security forces have arrested around 1,100 people since Thursday, the general command of the Moroccan armed forces said.
The migrants had tried, among other things, to get into Spanish territory from the coastal towns of Nador, M’Diq and Fnideq. The migrants came from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Yemen, among others, it was said yesterday.
In addition, the Moroccan Navy intercepted two boats with more than 150 migrants on board near Dakhla in Western Sahara that were on their way to the Canary Islands. The number of boats carrying migrants arriving there has increased sharply since October. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR counted more than 38,000 people who entered the Canary Islands illegally in 2023.
Morocco is again taking stronger action against migrants
Morocco is a transit country for many migrants on the way to Europe. The Canary Islands, which belong to Spain and are only about 150 kilometers from the coast of the North African country, are also often destinations. However, the route across the Atlantic is considered particularly dangerous due to strong currents. The migrants often travel with insufficient water supplies in overloaded boats that are not suitable for the crossing.
Morocco’s navy is deployed there, off Western Sahara, although its status under international law is disputed. Morocco claims the resource-rich Western Sahara, which was a Spanish colony until 1975, for itself. Rabat wants to make Western Sahara an autonomous province under Moroccan sovereignty. After a decades-long dispute, Spain now supports this territorial claim. The U-turn has eased long-difficult relations and Morocco is once again taking tough action against migrants – also in the spirit of the Spanish government.
UN accuses Morocco and Spain of using force
Migrants repeatedly try to reach Spanish and therefore EU territory at the border fences in Ceuta and Melilla. According to the United Nations, at least 37 people died in 2022 – due to the use of excessive force by Moroccan and Spanish security forces. According to the Spanish aid organization “Caminando Fronteras”, more than 770 migrants died while trying to reach the Canary Islands from West Africa in the first half of 2023.