Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has rejected suggestions that Morocco helped orchestrate the deadly mass crossing of migrants into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, as pressure mounts over his government’s handling of the crisis.
Sánchez told lawmakers on Thursday that there was no solid evidence from Spanish security agencies, intelligence services or international bodies linking Moroccan authorities to the planning or execution of the border breach.
“I can assure you that no institution — neither the diplomatic service, nor the European Commission, nor any international body — has provided the Spanish government with solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the incident. None,” Sánchez said.
The statement came a day after tens of thousands of Spaniards in cities across the country protested over the humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, with demonstrators demanding solutions and Sánchez’s resignation.
READ ALSO: Morocco, Spain Collaborate on Border Security
In late July, about 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa with a population of about 84,000.
Most of the migrants returned to Morocco or were transferred back across the border within days. However, about 5,000 people, including 1,200 minors, remained in the city weeks later, according to the Spanish government, while Ceuta’s local authorities put the figure higher.
The circumstances surrounding the mass crossing remain under investigation, with the Spanish government attributing the surge partly to an online campaign that spread misinformation through social media.
Earlier this week, Spanish media reported that a police report had highlighted the alleged permissiveness of Moroccan security forces during the incident. Spanish officials, however, denied that the report blamed Rabat for orchestrating the crossing.
Sánchez nevertheless acknowledged that Moroccan security forces had allowed migrants to cross during the peak of the incident.
“For a 10-hour period on July 30, when the arrival of migrants peaked, the Moroccan Gendarmerie allowed the border to be crossed,” he said.
The Prime Minister also criticised recent comments by two Moroccan ministers questioning Spain’s sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish territory in North Africa. He said the Spanish government had summoned Morocco’s ambassador in Madrid over the remarks.
Sánchez said his government would release key reports on the border breach but did not specify when they would be made public or what they would contain.
He also put the death toll from the incident at 141 people, significantly higher than the previous estimate of 96 given by authorities in Ceuta and Morocco’s National Human Rights Council. However, neither Sánchez’s office nor Spain’s Interior Ministry was able to explain how the revised figure had been calculated.
Opposition leader Alberto Feijóo criticised Sánchez’s handling of the crisis during the parliamentary session, accusing the government of failing to adequately defend Ceuta.
“Us Spaniards are at the same time perplexed and outraged at the face of the violation of our territorial integrity. I will start saying the same that millions of people have said in cities across Spain, despite the boycott from the Government, Ceutis, we will not leave you alone, the state has not surrendered,” Feijóo said.
The crisis has intensified scrutiny of Sánchez’s government, with officials providing conflicting accounts over whether Spain’s intelligence agency had warned of the impending border breach.
The Defence Ministry previously said Spain’s intelligence agency had provided advance information about increased migrant arrivals, while the Interior Ministry and other officials said there had been no warning of the scale of the incident.
Ceuta and Melilla are the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.
African News
