Hundreds of migrants intercepted near Morocco's border with Ceuta

Scores of would-be migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were intercepted on Saturday in northern Morocco near the border with the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, an AFP correspondent saw, two weeks after thousands of migrants rushed into the tiny territory.

Morocco's Le360 media outlet reported that 294 people were arrested, 46 of them Moroccan and the rest from sub-Saharan Africa.

"This is a routine operation aimed at preventing attempted irregular migration" toward Ceuta, an official with knowledge of the intervention told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The forests near towns on the border with Ceuta and Melilla -- another Spanish exclave to the east -- serve as gathering points for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach the territories, particularly in summer.

One of the migrants intercepted on Saturday, 22-year-old Abdessamad Dawad, said he wanted "to come to Europe because my country of origin, Sudan, is plagued by problems and insecurity".

Fellow Sudanese migrant Chams Edine Yakoub, 25, said he had been looking for opportunity.

"In Ceuta, in Europe, people are better cared for," he said

"There's no work here. There's no money. There's no housing. There is absolutely nothing, I swear."

According to the official, who did not provide the number of people detained, Saturday's arrests were part of "extensive security arrangements deployed" to prevent such departures.

Moroccan authorities had announced on Wednesday measures to counter another potential influx of migrants to Ceuta following a new wave of online disinformation saying the border would be open.

Le360 and the Hespress website reported that the authorities in recent days arrested more than 60 people accused of inciting or promoting irregular migration on social media.

Two weeks ago, around 72,000 people, mostly Moroccans, crossed into Ceuta -- a territory of 84,000 inhabitants -- over the span of a few days, though the vast majority of them have since been returned to Morocco.

Moroccan authorities recovered the remains of 11 people who died in the chaos, while Spain said at least 80 people died.

But the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, a non-governmental group, estimates the death toll to be at least 141.