Ceuta migrant surge: Morocco acts over online posts

Moroccan authorities announced measures on Wednesday to prevent a new migrant surge towards the Spanish territory of Ceuta after monitoring online posts claiming the border crossing would open on August 15.

The Moroccan interior ministry said it had detected anonymous social media messages encouraging collective illegal crossing attempts towards Ceuta. Interior ministry spokesman Rachid El Khalfi said all necessary measures had been taken to counter attempted illegal passages and intercept people seeking to take part.

The ministry said legal proceedings would be taken against people spreading the calls. El Khalfi, in remarks carried by Morocco's state news agency MAP, said a group of people suspected of involvement had been summoned for investigation.

The warning follows a late-July crisis in which around 72,000 people, mostly Moroccans, crossed irregularly into Ceuta over a few days. The vast majority have since been returned to Morocco.

Local authorities in Ceuta said about 2,000 people, including about 1,000 unaccompanied minors, remain in the Spanish territory. Morocco's interior ministry urged Spanish authorities to speed up the return of the minors.

Moroccan authorities said they recovered 11 bodies after the crisis, while Spain said at least 80 people died. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, a non-governmental group, estimated the death toll at at least 141.