Spain has not found evidence establishing that the Moroccan authorities organized the mass influx of migrants into the North African exclave of Ceuta at the end of July, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
Sanchez stated this to the lower house of the Spanish parliament after a police report was published stating that the mass influx into Ceuta was not a spontaneous migratory flow, but a planned and staged operation aimed at overloading the Spanish exclave's border controls.
"I can assure you that no institution, neither the diplomatic service, nor the European Commission, nor any other international organization, has provided the "The Spanish government has no clear evidence to show that Morocco planned or directed the incident. There is absolutely no evidence on this matter," Sanchez said.
The Spanish prime minister, however, said that Moroccan gendarmerie forces allowed migrants to cross the border for a period of 10 hours on July 30, when the number of migrants entering the enclave reached its peak. Spanish authorities are yet to determine whether this was due to inaction or an inability to stem the flow of migrants, Sanchez added.
A police report seen by Reuters shows that initially fewer Moroccan security forces were deployed near the Tarajal breakwater separating Ceuta from Morocco. They also made no serious efforts to disperse the oncoming crowds of migrants.
Some Moroccan police officers directed migrants towards checkpoints, while other unidentified individuals attempted to direct or control the flow of people, the report said. However, it did not identify individual Moroccan police officers or provide independent and verified information about specific orders given by Moroccan authorities.
Moroccan authorities denied authorizing the mass influx.