Ceuta influx: Spain rejects Morocco warning claim

Spain rejected a Moroccan official's claim that Rabat had warned Madrid that a Spanish court ruling on migrant returns would create problems before last week's mass crossing into Ceuta.

At least 50,000 people, mostly Moroccans, entered the Spanish exclave in North Africa on foot or by swimming from the nearby Moroccan city of Fnideq. The influx overwhelmed Ceuta before thousands of people were returned to Morocco.

Spain's Supreme Court ruled on July 8 that migrants arriving by sea should not be returned as quickly as others. Madrid has blamed criminal gangs for spreading misinformation about the ruling.

A senior Moroccan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Morocco began engaging with Spain around July 22-23, when networks began discussing the ruling.

“We discussed this ruling and its impact. We explained that this ruling was going to create a problem. And it did create a problem,” the official said.

Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saiz rejected the claim. She said there had been no evidence or report alerting Spain to the magnitude of the unprecedented event.

The Moroccan official said the large movement of people into Ceuta was not a failure of Morocco's security apparatus. He said Moroccan law enforcement could no longer confront the migrants at a certain point because of the large numbers and what he called a strong “pull effect”.

The official said migration management was not Morocco's sole responsibility and put the kingdom's annual migration-management costs at around 500 million euros. He said Morocco accepts the return of people who cross, takes preventive measures to stop as many departures as possible and would continue to do so.

Saiz said Spain's exceptional response in a short time would not have been possible without Morocco's cooperation.

Authorities and groups have given differing death tolls from the crossings. Morocco's interior ministry has said 11 people died, including 10 who drowned and one who fell from a rocky area. Madrid has said at least 72 people died, while the Moroccan Association for Human Rights has put the toll close to 130 and said dozens were still missing.