Ceuta migrant crisis: Spain PM faults Morocco controls

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Moroccan border controls failed during a migrant crisis in Ceuta, where more than 70,000 people entered the Spanish North African territory over two days in July.

“We are investigating what happened in those days back in July but at the same time we have asked Morocco for actions and also for answers because it is also clear that its border control failed,” Sanchez told CNN in New York on Tuesday.

More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31. Most returned to Morocco within hours, but several thousand remained in the Spanish enclave.

The situation in Ceuta has since deteriorated, with episodes of violence and almost daily demonstrations by local residents.

Sanchez told Spain's parliament on September 3 that Madrid needed to ask Moroccan authorities for explanations and changes to avoid another such influx, while saying there was no solid proof that Morocco had orchestrated it.

A Spanish police report seen by AFP said the number of Moroccan police officers near the border crossing was clearly smaller than usual and that officers made no serious attempt to stop the surge. The report was based on satellite images, open-source videos and testimony from migrants.

Spain's government has since had to identify thousands of migrants who remain in Ceuta to determine whether they are entitled to asylum. Unaccompanied children cannot be summarily deported.