Morocco Strengthens Border Security Amid Campaign Inciting New Crossing to Ceuta

Rabat – Morocco is further strengthening its border security amid a social media campaign inciting a new mass crossing to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on August 15.

EFE reported Moroccan police and gendarmerie are reinforcing checkpoints at the entrances to towns, including Fnideq—also known as Castillejos.

Spain is also reinforcing its security, with EFE reporting earlier this week that the European country’s military ordered the cancellation of leave for its personnel to mobilize forces for potential mass attempts.

EFE said Ceuta’s General Directorate of the Civil Guard and the General Command ordered the suspension of leave for military personnel and agents assigned to the city following the mass crossings that took place last month.

The suspension will be from August 13 until further notice, except in exceptional cases, according to defense sources quoted by EFE.

This comes as local authorities are monitoring a social media campaign inciting a mass entry on August 15.

Many videos and posts, generating hundreds of views and likes, are alleging a new mass entry that will take place at that specific time.

Several anonymous accounts have circulated viral posts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, urging people to head to the enclave on August 15.

EFE quoted police sources who confirmed that security forces have been monitoring the campaign for several days, examining the posts with “great caution.”

“The origin of these messages could cross the borders of Spain and Morocco. In other words, they don’t rule out that the origin is in other countries and that even the number of followers or likes has been manipulated,” the agency said.

Authorities are also teaming up with social platforms like Meta and TikTok, which agreed to work with the European Union to limit false or misleading information that could encourage migrants to attempt dangerous crossings.

Through the agreement, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok, had agreed to create an “ad-hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism with fact-checkers” as part of existing “crisis protocols.”

This comes two weeks after one of the largest irregular migrations to Ceuta, when tens of thousands reached the enclave by swimming on July 30.

Morocco and Spain responded to the mass entry through an agreement that returned most of those who entered home, and agreed to continue cooperating to tackle irregular migration.