In late July, tens of thousands of migrants crossed the European border into a small enclave in a single day.
Moroccan police reportedly clashed with migrants near the border with Ceuta (Image: JALAL MORCHIDI/EPA/Shutterstock)
Moroccan riot police reportedly clashed with dozens of migrants as they tried to illegally reach Ceuta, the little Spanish enclave in northern Africa. Armed police in Morocco reportedly intercepted 111 migrants on Saturday, in what appeared to be the second mass attempt of migrant crossing in the area in less than a month.
Among the migrants intercepted as they were allegedly attempting to cross the border between Morocco and Ceuta, 109 were from sub-Saharan Africa and two were Moroccan, Spanish news agency Efe reports. Citing sources, the news agency reports police clashed with the migrants around three kilometres from Ceuta, near the Moroccan town of Fnideq. The forces allegedly used tear gas to disperse the migrant and were helped by helicopters.
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Ceuta borders with Morocco (Image: Getty)
No mass breach was reported at the border, with the security situation described as calm and under control, Hespress reports.
Also on Saturday morning, some 300 migrants reportedly gathered in the hilly area surrounding Ceuta, but were barred from reaching the enclave. They did not clash with police, according to local reports.
Tensions have been high on the border between Spain and Morocco ahead of this weekend.
Messages have reportedly circulated on social media platforms encouraging people to try and illegally reach the small EU enclave on Saturday.
One message, as reported by the Telegraph, read: “The Ceuta border will be open on the 15th [of August], a public holiday in Spain”.
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Fears of a second mass migrant crossing into Ceuta have been ramping up ahed of today (Image: Getty)
Security forces were deployed along both sides of the border amid fears of a new mass migrant crossing attempt.
All annual leave was cancelled for Spanish troops ahead of the weekend, with forces rushed to the small territory in North Africa to deal with another potential crisis.
This comes after, in late July, more than 70,000 migrants illegally crossed into Ceuta from Morocco within just hours.
At least 88 people died in the attempt, with many drowning as they tried to swim into the EU territory.