More than 150 people are being prosecuted by the Moroccan justice system for inciting illegal immigration, a government spokesperson announced on Thursday, September 19, a few days after the thwarting of a large-scale attempt to cross the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta (called Sebta in Morocco).
On Sunday, around 3,000 people tried to enter Ceuta illegally following calls on social media, government spokesman Mustapha Baitas said. “Unfortunately, some young people are encouraged [à immigrer] by strangers on social media »he lamented during a press conference. “As part of the fight against calls for illegal immigration, 152 people were heard by a judge”he added, specifying that all attempts to cross had ” failed “.
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent saw hundreds of migrants, mostly Moroccan and others from sub-Saharan Africa, climbing hills and trying to get through barbed wire in the Fnideq area on Sunday, as heavy security was deployed and tear gas grenades were fired. Videos shared on social media, which could not be authenticated by AFP, showed men grouped together and sitting on the ground, wearing only what appeared to be swimming shorts. The prosecutor's office announced that it was opening an investigation into the dissemination of these images to determine their veracity.
Local media outlets have been echoing criticism of the government in recent days, which it accuses of failing to provide prospects for young Moroccans who want to leave their country. According to official statistics, one in four young people aged 15 to 24 in Morocco is neither in the job market, nor in training, nor in school.
The influx of migrants to Ceuta, the only land border of the European Union (EU) on the African continent (along with the other Spanish enclave of Melilla, further east), has intensified in recent weeks. Moroccan authorities foiled more than 11,300 attempts at irregular emigration in August alone, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The main route for migrants to Spain, however, remains the dangerous Atlantic route to the Canaries, from the northwest coast of Africa. More than 22,300 migrants arrived in the Canaries from 1er January to August 15, up 126% year-on-year.
Source: Lemonde
