Spain and Morocco are reinforcing the Ceuta border amid fears of another mass crossing attempt on Saturday, it has emerged.
It comes after the extraordinary surge of July 30, when around 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta en masse, many by swimming around the border from neighbouring Morocco.
Calls have been circulating on social media in Morocco in recent days urging people to stage another mass crossing on August 15, prompting authorities on both sides of the frontier to prepare for a potential repeat.
Spain’s Interior Ministry has significantly increased the number of security personnel stationed in Ceuta, apparently determined to prevent officers being overwhelmed in the way they were during the previous surge.
There are now 880 Policia Nacional officers and 714 Guardia Civil personnel deployed in the enclave, almost 500 more agents than on July 30.
Another 45 officers from the UPR public-order force are due to arrive in the coming hours to reinforce the operation.
Moroccan authorities have also deployed additional personnel on their side of the border as the two countries attempt to deter another mass movement towards Ceuta.
The mobilisation comes during a particularly sensitive period in relations between Madrid and Rabat, with the July crisis having placed enormous pressure on the small Spanish territory.
Just 18 migrants formally returned to Morocco
Meanwhile, new figures have revealed the scale of the challenge facing Spanish authorities in dealing with those who remained in Ceuta following the July 30 crossing.
According to Cadena SER, just 18 people have so far been formally expelled to Morocco through the judicial process.
Spain’s Interior Ministry says around 5,000 of those who entered during the crisis remain in Ceuta, while approximately 70,000 are understood to have returned to Morocco ‘voluntarily’.
The ministry insists that returning those who are eligible for removal is a ‘priority’ and says efforts are underway to accelerate the process.
However, formal expulsions cannot simply be carried out immediately at the border.
Migrants must first undergo police identification and registration before their individual circumstances can be processed and, where necessary, put before a judge so that a return can be authorised.
