23 sexual assaults recorded in Ceuta after influx of migrants
Spanish prosecutors recorded 23 sexual assaults, nine of them against children, in Ceuta following the mass arrival of migrants at the end of July. Ceuta’s chief prosecutor, Silvia Rojas, said this amounts to almost one case every day, BBC News reports.
According to Rojas, migrant girls are particularly vulnerable because of their irregular status in Ceuta. She also noted that the number of sexual assaults rose sharply after the influx of people, while some victims did not contact law enforcement due to fear or their current situation in the city.
Thousands of people remain in Ceuta
On July 30 and 31, at least 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Most of them returned to Morocco, but an estimated up to 5,000 people remain in the city. Between 1,400 and 1,600 of them are children.
The Efe agency reported that the suspects in the sexual assaults include four Moroccan nationals, three Spaniards and a Belgian national. The Spanish Epidemiological Society said that the border crisis exposed difficulties in identifying and combating violence against migrant women and girls.
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In recent days, clashes have also taken place in Ceuta amid tensions between migrants and local residents. On Tuesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez convened the second National Security Council meeting in a week dedicated to the situation in the enclave.
Assistance and political dispute
Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said that the government had approved a multimillion aid package to provide basic services and care for unaccompanied minors. Ceuta’s conservative mayor, Juan Jesús Vivas, called for demonstrations in mainland Spain on Wednesday in support of the city.
Sánchez also said that King Felipe VI would visit Ceuta as soon as conditions permit. Morocco has long claimed Ceuta and the other Spanish autonomous city of Melilla. At the same time, Sánchez said intelligence has no information about the involvement of Moroccan authorities in the mass border crossing.
Spain’s prime minister said that disinformation on social media was linked to Russia, the aggressor state, Israel and the international far-right movement. Russia and Israel denied any involvement. Morocco also rejected claims that it organized or participated in the mass border crossing.
