These figures differ significantly from the data provided by Spain – Madrid claims that at least 72 people died.
From Wednesday to Friday, tens of thousands of potential migrants moved into the territory, causing a diplomatic conflict in the European Union – some member states criticized Spain’s migration policy.
A spokesperson for the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, Rachid El Khalfi, said that out of the 11 deceased, 10 drowned, and one person fell from a rocky area.
Morocco is cooperating with Spain to verify the number of dead and identify the bodies found on Spanish territory.
They stated the cause
The ministry linked the sudden influx to “malicious exploitation of social networks” and “spreading misleading information.”
However, it also pointed to “misinterpretation of legal provisions” – a hint at the July 8 decision by the Spanish Supreme Court, according to which migrants arriving by sea should not be returned as quickly as others.
The ministry stated that 40,000 attempts to enter Ceuta illegally were recorded.
Additionally, another 1,135 people tried to illegally enter Spanish territory in Melilla, located further east, but were immediately returned to Moroccan territory, the ministry added.
Most returned to Morocco
Spain claims that more than 60,000 people entered Ceuta in recent days, although most have already returned to Morocco.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) reported “almost 130 victims” and dozens missing.
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The ministry stated that the prosecutor’s office has launched an official investigation into the events.
What triggered such a massive movement?
15min reminds that Linas Kojala, head of the Center for Geopolitics and Security Studies, analyzed the events in Ceuta and pointed to media reports that the crisis could have happened with Morocco’s knowledge.
Messages spread via “TikTok,” “Instagram,” “WhatsApp,” and other channels claiming that the Spanish border was supposedly open and that one could enter Ceuta without documents. The Spanish government also states that criminal networks involved in human trafficking exploited this misleading information.
These messages were further fueled by the July 8 decision of the Spanish Supreme Court, which ruled that people trying to enter Ceuta by sea cannot be automatically returned at the border without examining each case individually. However, the decision did not grant them the right to stay in Spain nor prohibit their later return under the usual procedure. On social networks, this distinction was presented as an almost guaranteed chance to stay.
Did Morocco get angry about Spain’s friendship with Algeria?
Nevertheless, such a scale of influx would have been hardly possible without a significant weakening of Moroccan border control. Spanish media recorded that in the first hours, Moroccan officials barely intervened in some places. Only later did they stop the mass movement. Suspicions of possible deliberate use of migration for political pressure are reinforced by the 2021 precedent. Then, amid heightened tensions and Morocco weakening control, more than 8,000 people entered Ceuta in two days.
Later, relations between Spain and Morocco improved, but at the same time, Madrid became very dependent on Rabat’s cooperation in border protection. Therefore, some politicians and experts talk about possible instrumentalization of migration.
Some analysts said that Morocco might have allowed migrants to cross the border to exert diplomatic pressure on Spain, which recently improved ties with Rabat’s main adversary, Algeria.
In 2021, about a thousand migrants crossed into Ceuta, taking advantage of Morocco easing border control to pressure Spain.
Russia and Morocco
15min reminds that recently Morocco became the third country from which Russia started buying gasoline after Ukraine’s strikes on oil refineries reduced the country’s fuel production to the lowest level in two decades.
Last week, Russia received a shipment of about 30,000 tons of Moroccan AI-92 gasoline delivered by sea, Reuters reported citing two sources from the industry.
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