Morocco’s Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday, August 12th, 2026, that it has strengthened security measures along its borders with the Spanish exclaves Ceuta and Melilla. This move comes as Moroccan authorities work to prevent a potential new surge of crossings into Spanish-administered Ceuta, triggered by a recent disinformation campaign on social media calling for mass attempts to enter the territory.

The ministry reported detecting the circulation of publications and anonymous messages on social media inciting collective illegal crossing attempts towards Ceuta. Authorities warned that legal proceedings would be initiated against individuals spreading online posts encouraging irregular migration.

Local authorities in Ceuta say approximately 2,000 people remain in the territory on the North African coast amid an ongoing asylum crisis, with reports of migrant children going days without food and calls from the Ceuta mayor for migrant detention due to the mass influx.

In related developments, a Spain-led operation dismantled a Mediterranean smuggling network, resulting in 78 arrests. Moroccan authorities recovered the bodies of 11 people following the recent crisis, while Spanish sources reported at least 80 deaths.

Sources