Morocco arrests 56,000 migrants in eight months

A Moroccan parliamentary report revealed yesterday that the local authorities detained 56,000 irregular migrants during the first eight months of this year. Around 12,000 migrants were apparently rescued from drowning in the Mediterranean.

The report confirmed that the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces monitor the country’s land and maritime borders. There is a permanent deployment of 50,000 soldiers on the borders.

In 2020, the Moroccan authorities arrested 12,231 irregular migrants and disrupted 150 criminal networks of people smugglers. “More than 1,300 networks have been dismantled over the past five years,” said the report.

The Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta on the northern coast of Morocco are the most popular crossing points for irregular African migrants heading to Europe. The two cities, the Chafarinas Islands and other rocky islands in the Mediterranean are governed by Spain, although Morocco regards them to be its own “occupied frontier”.

Morocco minister: ‘Defence budget insufficient to face security threats’