Spain’s Civil Guard Directorate has launched an investigation into social media groups containing calls for a new mass migration attempt toward Ceuta, the Spanish territory in North Africa.
The investigation identified a campaign in chat groups on specific social media platforms calling on people to travel to Ceuta. Posts in the groups, which included more than 400,000 people in total, contained calls pointing to August 15 as well as logistical details.
Spanish authorities concluded that the posts involved digital coordination. However, it remained unclear whether the new migration attempt would take place, and there was no evidence that the campaign had been planned by the Moroccan government or criminal organizations.
Previous migration attempt in Ceuta
More than 800 irregular migrants were intercepted while attempting to swim to Ceuta from the coast of the Moroccan town of Castillejos.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said after the incident that the government had mobilized all its resources. The Spanish government also decided to deploy the armed forces to the area to ensure security amid an increase in irregular migration attempts toward Ceuta.