Rabat – Moroccan police said Thursday they had arrested two men suspected of plotting an operation to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla, seizing passports and scores of grappling hooks to scale fences.
The men, aged 28 and 37, reported only to be from a sub-Saharan African nation, were arrested in Oujda, close to Morocco’s north-eastern border with Algeria, police said.
The two suspects are accused of being “involved in the planning and preparation of an illegal immigration operation” to bring migrants across the fortified fence between Morocco’s city of Nador and Spain’s Melilla, the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) said in a statement.
As well as 274 metal hooks, police seized passports, Moroccan and foreign cash, money transfer receipts and a laptop computer, it added.
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Melilla, one of two Spanish territories on African soil, has been the recent target of migrants seeking to reach the European Union – including a June 24 attempt by some 2 000 mostly Sudanese, when at least 23 people died.
It was the worst toll in years of such attempted crossings, and rights groups accused both Spanish and Moroccan authorities of using excessive force.
Since the tragedy, Morocco has sentenced dozens of migrants to prison terms on charges including illegal entry and belonging to criminal gangs.
The arrest of the two suspects came a few hours after the arrest of 55 migrants from Sudan, Chad and Algeria – including 13 minors – who had entered Morocco illegally, police said.
Moroccan police in August and October said they had busted networks in the same city of Oujda providing forged European Schengen visas.
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On Sunday, Moroccan police arrested 25 migrants near Melilla, mainly from Sudan and Chad.
Rights groups say police operations have ramped up amid renewed cooperation between Madrid and Rabat since they ended a year-long diplomatic stand-off in April.
Under international law, migrants have a right to claim asylum, and it is forbidden to send potential asylum seekers back to where their lives or well-being might be in danger.
The Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta have long been a magnet for people fleeing violence and poverty across Africa to seek refuge in Europe.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Unsplash
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