The Mayor of Ceuta Blames Morocco for the Influx of Migrants – The Guardian
The mayor of the Spanish city of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, stated that Morocco deliberately facilitated a sharp increase in the flow of migrants last week. According to him, Rabat’s actions can be regarded as “atrocities” against people who are being used for political purposes.
Vivas called these events “a horrific atrocity.”
“This is a horrific atrocity. There are 88 bodies in the morgue, and there are even more on the other side of the border,” the mayor said.
He noted that local residents watched the events unfold with a mixture of sadness, anxiety, and despair.
“People believed that, if not organized, this was at least encouraged or condoned by Morocco,” Vivas added.
He drew a parallel with the events of 2021, when Rabat eased border controls, allowing 10,000 people to cross the border into Ceuta over the course of two days during a diplomatic standoff triggered by Madrid’s decision to allow the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement to receive COVID-19 treatment in Spain.
Last week, tens of thousands of migrants, some of them by swimming, crossed the border from Morocco into the neighboring Spanish city of Ceuta. According to the Spanish government, almost all of them have already returned.
Source: The Guardian
As a reminder, Santiago Abascal, leader of the Spanish right-wing populist party Vox, called for the permanent militarization of the border with Morocco and the indefinite closure of the border crossing amid the migration crisis in Ceuta.
In Italy, authorities have begun conducting random checks on passengers arriving from Spain. This followed the decision by Giorgia Meloni’s government to temporarily reinstate border controls amid the migration crisis in Ceuta, Spain. The checks are being conducted at airports and seaports, including Rome’s Fiumicino.
On Saturday, Spain began installing a 500-meter-long inflatable floating barrier near the border with Morocco in the Ceuta area. This decision was made following a sharp increase in the number of migrants attempting to enter the Spanish enclave.
