Moroccan Police Block Second Ceuta Migrant Rush

Moroccan police have blocked a second attempt by migrants to cross the border into Ceuta en masse.

Riot police were deployed at the border on Saturday as hundreds prepared to storm the Spanish territory, two weeks after tens of thousands made the crossing.

Migrants gathered in the border town of Castillejos after calls were made on social media encouraging a second attempt.

Moroccan police arrested about 300 people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, for attempting to cross into Ceuta. Another 61 people were arrested for “inciting and promoting” on social media, reports said.

This follows the incident on July 30 which saw at least 72,000 people pour across the border in an attempt to illegally enter Europe through one of its only land borders with Africa.

At least 88 people died in the attempt, with many drowning or being crushed to death, in what was described as the single largest illegal influx into the EU. Most of those who reached Ceuta were returned to Morocco, but some remain in the exclave.