Moroccan security forces detained 148 migrants near the northern city of Fnideq after stopping a coordinated storming of the border into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on Saturday.
The crackdown followed anonymous social media campaigns urging thousands of desperate migrants to breach the heavily fortified border fence on Aug. 15.
Surveillance drones buzzed overhead as riot vehicles and water cannon trucks blocked hundreds of migrants trying to reach the border crossing.
Authorities confirmed 128 of those held were sub-Saharan Africans, while 20 were Moroccan nationals attempting the hazardous journey toward Europe.
The joint security push kept conditions along the frontier normal and controlled despite the swelling crowd of hopeful travelers nearby.
Officials vowed to prosecute online agitators and maintain heavy patrols along the Mediterranean perimeter to prevent future coordinated crossing attempts.
This latest surge comes after tragic clashes in late July when tens of thousands converged on the same border zone.
Human rights monitoring groups reported at least 14 deaths during that previous crisis, while Spanish authorities estimated fatalities reached 80.
Moroccan enclaves Ceuta and Melilla remain primary flashpoints for migrants fleeing economic hardship and regional conflicts across the continent.
