Morocco ramps up security along the Ceuta border ahead of potential mass border crossings coinciding with elections

The Spanish newspaper El País reported that Moroccan authorities have strengthened their security and military deployment along the border with the city of Ceuta, specifically in the city of Fnideq, in anticipation of renewed attempts at mass border crossings.

The paper added that the border area is experiencing a widespread and intensive security mobilization involving various agencies, aimed at preventing the formation of gatherings by irregular migration candidates near sensitive points in the city and to secure the field situation early on.

It noted that this comes amid the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for Wednesday, September 23.

The report stated that “Moroccan authorities have reinforced their security and military presence on the city’s borders,” highlighting the deployment of “four trucks equipped with high-pressure water cannons, approximately 40 police cars, armored vehicles, and hundreds of security personnel.” Local sources estimated the number of forces in the area at around 3,000 personnel, including military units.

The newspaper explained that authorities have reinforced barriers and metal fences along the coastal strip, extending them tens of meters into the sea to prevent attempts to cross by swimming via the beach and rocks—routes previously used by migrants to reach Ceuta during the crossing wave witnessed in the region in late July.

It reported that “the Spanish Embassy in Rabat warned Moroccan authorities of the risk of a new mass incursion by irregular migrants coinciding with the parliamentary elections.”

The embassy also issued warning messages via the X platform, affirming that “irregular entry into Ceuta and Melilla does not grant the individual the right to access the Iberian Peninsula, remain in Spain, or move freely within the European Union.”