Columns Europe Headlines International Morocco Opinions

Ceuta, a Tinder Box Waiting to Explode

The recent death of three Moroccan women in a stampede at the Ceuta border crossing, has cast light on an unsustainable situation in the Spanish-occupied city in northern Morocco. From smuggling to illegal immigration and extremism, the northern city -called Sebta by Moroccans- has become a tinder box waiting to explode with the issue of […]

Headlines International Morocco

Spanish Government to Earmark €10.7 mln to reinforce border Security in Ceuta

The Spanish government has recognized the failure of its border fence policy to stop the flow of migrants to its enclaves in northern Morocco and announced measures amounting to €10.7 million to reinforce border security in Ceuta. The six-meter barbed wire fence could not thwart thousands of migrants from taking the risk of crossing into […]

Europe Headlines International Morocco

Spain Considers Using Drones to Patrol Land Borders with Morocco

The silent diplomatic row between Morocco and Spain over Ceuta and Melilla may worsen as the Spanish Defense Ministry considers deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the borders of the exclaves in northern Morocco. Enlisting airborne surveillance at Spain’s land borders with Morocco aims at reducing the numbers of Spain’s border guards, reports Spanish news […]

Europe Headlines International Morocco

Spanish Queen’s Visit to Ceuta Would Stir up Rabat’s Anger

A diplomatic frost is silently developing between Rabat and Madrid, after Spanish media spoke of an upcoming visit by the Queen of Spain to the enclave of Ceuta on September 9. The Spanish-occupied city of Ceuta is yet again at the heart of a new row after Morocco protested in 2007 against a visit by […]

Headlines Morocco

At Least 180 Illegal Migrants Storm into Ceuta

Over 180 illegal migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa broke into the six-meter fence surrounding the Spanish-occupied city in northern Morocco, Ceuta. Images broadcasted in the media show the migrants sprinting over the border from the Moroccan side Monday, in the early morning before sunrise. The migrants who reached Ceuta were eventually rounded up and taken to […]

Europe Headlines International Morocco

Europol Seizes Weapons Bound for Occupied Ceuta, Melilla

The European Police Office (Europol) foiled in Rotterdam port an attempt at trafficking a considerable cargo of arms to terrorists in the Spanish-occupied cities of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Morocco, Moroccan newspaper al Ahdat reported. The seized weapons comprised pistols and machine guns and were intended to be smuggled through Sardinia to North Africa, […]

Asia Headlines International

Ceuta and Melilla’s IS Fighters exceed 200

By the end of 2016, 204 Jihadists left the Spanish-occupied cities of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Morocco to join the ranks of the Islamic State (Daesh) in Irak and Syria, warns a report of the Spanish intelligence services. Relayed by the Moroccan media, the report dealing with the issue of foreign fighters from the […]

Europe International

Hundreds of Sub-Saharan Migrants Storm into Melilla

Nearly one hundred Sub-Saharan illegal migrants rampaged on Monday in the streets of the Spanish-occupied city of Melilla in northern Morocco celebrating their entry into the EU territory after a perilous journey, local media said. The group was among three hundred Sub-Saharan migrants who staged a mass attempt to breach the six-meter-high border fence. Moroccan […]

Blogs Community

Arab Parliamentary Union Calls on Spain to Return Ceuta, Melilla to Morocco

The Arab Parliamentary Union called on Spain to return the occupied enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in addition to the Mediterranean Chafarinas Islands to Morocco. The call was made in the closing statement of the 24th congress of the Union, which was held in Rabat. In this regards, Arab MPs underscored the efforts led by […]

Headlines Morocco

Protecting EU Borders Costs Morocco €250 mln Annually

Spain seems like a forgotten EU border far away from the tragedies of the refugee crisis that ensued the Arab Spring and the influx of migrants and refugees in 2015. When the EU saw over 1 million sea arrivals in 2015, only a few thousands were registered in Spain, thanks to close cooperation with Morocco […]