There were 70,000, now 2,500 remain
Spanish officials reported on Monday that out of approximately 69,500 people who reached the small Spanish territory in North Africa at the end of last week, the majority have returned to Morocco in recent days. It is believed that about 2,500 migrants still remain in Ceuta, according to the newspaper “The Guardian”.
The unprecedented influx paralyzed the city with 84,000 inhabitants and caused a political crisis throughout the European Union, with some member states trying to shift responsibility for the situation to Spain.
“This is cruel”
Ceuta’s leaders drew attention to the tragic scale of the events. “This is cruelty,” said long-time conservative enclave leader Juan Jesus Vivas. “There are 88 bodies in the morgue, and even more on the other side of the border.”
According to him, local residents watched the events with sadness, anxiety, and grief. “People do not see this as a migration crisis; essentially, it was an attack, a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,” J.J. Vivas told the newspaper “El País”. “People felt that this, if not planned, was at least encouraged or allowed by Morocco.”
Rabat had already acted this way in 2021
He drew a parallel with the events of May 2021, when Rabat eased border controls and allowed 10,000 people to enter Ceuta within two days. At that time, this happened amid a diplomatic dispute over Madrid’s decision to allow the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement to receive COVID-19 treatment in Spain.
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Analysts believe that this time Morocco’s response may have been provoked by Spain’s recent rapprochement with Rabat’s fierce opponent Algeria.
Speaking on Monday, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles also seemed to imply that Rabat is involved. “Neither Spain nor Morocco can turn away from this tragedy,” she told reporters. “I urge the Moroccan government to thoroughly investigate what happened.”
What Spanish intelligence says
These hints seem to be confirmed by a preliminary assessment by Spanish intelligence services. Although it is believed that the Moroccan authorities did not directly plan the influx, it was concluded that the country did not stop the people flowing towards the border and in some cases even facilitated their passage.
Intelligence sources told the newspaper “El País” that the roots of the crisis likely lie in misinformation rapidly spreading on social networks after the Spanish Supreme Court ruling banning the immediate deportation of migrants arriving by sea. As false news spread online, Moroccan border surveillance was reduced to a minimum until it was completely stopped at the end of last week, opening the way for tens of thousands of people.
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