TIGHTENED SECURITY MEASURES DUE TO ANNOUNCED MASS BORDER CROSSING

RABAT, AUGUST 14 /SRNA/ - Moroccan authorities have tightened security measures in the city of Tangier and the neighbouring Fahs-Anjra Province after calls for a mass illegal crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on August 15 appeared on social media, Moroccan news portal Alyaoum24 reported.

Several people suspected of involvement in spreading such calls have been detained.

Additional police, gendarmerie and auxiliary forces have been deployed at bus and railway stations, and intercity taxi stands. Checks have been tightened at the entrances to and exits from Tangier and on the main roads in Fahs-Anjra Province.

Law enforcement agencies have increased their monitoring of social media, especially posts that call for and encourage the organization of mass border crossings.

Gendarmerie units in Fahs-Anjra have been placed on heightened alert, with additional checkpoints and barriers set up on the roads, while patrols are being conducted around the clock.

Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, faced a mass influx of migrants from neighbouring Morocco at the end of July.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that approximately 72,000 migrants entered Spanish territory, while around 70,000 have since returned to Morocco.

Moroccan authorities estimate that around 40,000 people entered the Spanish enclave.