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Spain has sent around 200 extra Guardia Civil officers and armoured vehicles to Ceuta and Melilla ahead of Wednesday September 23, when authorities fear another mass attempt to cross the border, timed to coincide with parliamentary elections in Morocco.

 

Ceuta has received 144 officers from the Reserve and Security Group, drawn from several regions, while Melilla has been sent three Rapid Intervention Modules, around 60 officers in total.

 

The government has spent weeks monitoring social media calls urging people to storm the border on Wednesday, betting that Moroccan police will be stretched thin covering election day. The Spanish Embassy in Rabat has launched its own campaign warning that crossing into Spanish territory does not grant the right to stay.

 

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has played down the calls, saying they are not gaining traction, but the Ministry of the Interior isn’t taking any chances. Maritime surveillance has also been stepped up around Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, the Alhucemas Islands, the Chafarinas Islands and Perejil Island.

 

"The operation is ready, but no matter how many officers they send to the border, if 80,000 people arrive all at once again, it will be very difficult to contain," Guardia Civil sources admitted, while pointing to the floating barriers now installed at the Tarajal breakwater in Ceuta and the South Dike in Melilla, which allow migrants to be turned back immediately.

 

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska confirmed on Monday that three additional Guardia Civil platoons have been sent to each autonomous city as a "preventive" measure. Moroccan authorities are said to be taking the threat seriously too, with the Gendarmerie deploying extra personnel and water cannons near Castillejos.

 

Melilla's Government Delegate, Sabrina Moh, called for calm, insisting there had been no specific new warnings.

 

"They are constantly working, not only now because there is a slightly more sensitive situation, but 365 days a year, every year," she said.

 

 

Image: Xemenendura / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0