Morocco has ordered this Saturday, without offering further explanations, the journalists from EFE and TVE deployed to Fnideq (the former Castillejos, southwest of Ceuta,) to leave the town, where they are covering the situation in the border area.
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The order came a few hours after Moroccan security forces thwarted an attempt to enter Spanish territory by hundreds of migrants, mostly sub-Saharan, who tried to approach the border. Riot police intervened to disperse them using tear gas and batons.
During the coverage of these incidents, the highest local representative of the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, Youssef Hajji, informed the EFE correspondent that the directive and, when asked for an explanation, he limited himself to saying that he was “following instructions.”
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The EFE journalist witnessed Hajji conveying the same order to the TVE team. The Moroccan official also warned the Spanish journalists that their professional accreditations and work equipment could be withdrawn if they did not leave Castillejos.
EFE has contacted the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior to try to clarify the reasons for the expulsion, although so far it has not received a response. It has also contacted the Director of Communication of the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, who has assured that he is trying to clarify what happened.
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