Spain Takes Preventive Steps Ahead of Ceuta Migration Call

Madrid says it is taking preventive measures after a social media appeal urged people to cross into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on 23 September.

The Spanish foreign minister said he remains in frequent contact with his Moroccan counterpart as the two sides work to prevent potential mass entries. He did not provide details of the preventive measures being taken by Madrid.

Appeal said to have limited impact

According to the minister, messages linked to the latest call were not generating the same response as those associated with an earlier appeal to enter Ceuta at the end of July.

He said the new messages were “not resonating or generating the impact they had” during the earlier episode.

The minister also said the ministry had begun a campaign aimed at countering disinformation and making clear that access to Ceuta is “not allowed”.

Migrants remain after July entries

Some 70,000 migrants were reported to have entered Ceuta from Morocco in July. Many have since returned, while Ceuta authorities estimate that several thousand remain in the Spanish territory.

The latest social media call comes against that background, but the source of the appeal has not been identified.

Madrid’s response includes continued contact between the Spanish and Moroccan foreign ministers and the ministry’s public information campaign. The Spanish government has not specified the nature of the other preventive measures it says are being taken.