Morocco thwarts Ceuta raid by 250 illegal migrants

Moroccan authorities announced it had undermined and defeated a raid attempt carried out by 250 illegal African migrants at the Moroccan city of Ceuta, which is under Spanish occupation, Anadolu reported yesterday.

This came just hours after 500 illegal African migrants have succeeded in storming the barrier around the city at dawn, according to the Spanish Civil Guards.

Local Moroccan authorities in M’diq-Fnideq, the Moroccan region adjacent to Ceuta, known as Sabtah in its original Arabic name, reported undermining the raid in a statement, noting that all of those seized were African migrants.

According to the statement, which was reported by Anadolu, thwarting the raid attempt resulted in 10 injuries among the Moroccan police and 20 others among the illegal migrants. All of the wounded were admitted to hospitals for treatment.

The statement also noted that 110 of the illegal migrants were taken to police stations to be interrogated.

Spain occupies the Moroccan cities of Ceuta and Melilla which are sought by thousands of migrants throughout Africa, aiming to cross to Europe. They either try to reach these cities by swimming or crossing three border checkpoints.

Morocco does not recognise Spanish control of the two cities and Madrid has been refusing to start negotiations with Rabat on the return of the two cities.