Morocco blames Ceuta migrant rush on social media misinformation and human traffickers

Morocco’s Interior Ministry says the recent mass crossing of migrants into the Spanish ​enclaves ‌of Ceuta and Melilla was fuelled by misinformation on social media, ‌human trafficking ⁠networks and misinterpretation of ‌a Spanish court ruling.

About 40,000 people were involved ​in ‌the rush into Ceuta and ⁠1,135 were ‌stopped from entering ‌Melilla, the ministry said in ‌a statement. At least 11 people died while trying to cross the border, the ministry said. The figure was significantly smaller than that provided by the Spanish government, which on Sunday said it had recovered 72 bodies, up from the 67 it had previously reported.

The statement otherwise echoed comments from Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who over the weekend blamed people-smuggling networks for exploiting vulnerable migrants by spreading misleading interpretations of a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling, which said migrants intercepted at sea could not be summarily returned in the absence of a physical barrier.

While the vast majority of the migrants who entered Ceuta left within 48 hours, the mass crossing caused alarm across the European Union, prompting 22 of its member states to call for coordinated action to protect external borders and other measures.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote in a letter to the EU Commission and European Council presidents, stating that the EU cannot afford this kind of ‘selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction’. The AUGC union for Spain’s Civil Guard gendarmerie also said it was asking for reinforcements of at least 200 officers and warned that more work was needed to stop people swimming around the barrier.