Morocco Reacts to Migrant Influx Towards Spain, Cites Misinformation and Judicial Decisions
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Morocco has officially responded to the recent influx of migrants attempting to enter Spain. Rachid El Felfal, spokesperson for the Moroccan Ministry of Interior, announced that approximately 40,000 people attempted to cross into the Spanish city of Ceuta during the recent wave of irregular migration. He added that an estimated 1,135 individuals headed towards the city of Melilla, and all who successfully entered Melilla at that time were returned.
El Felfal elaborated that investigations indicate the event was not a result of isolated or spontaneous factors but rather a combination of several elements. These include the deliberate exploitation of cyberspace, the dissemination of misleading information, the activities of human trafficking networks, and misinterpretations of certain legal and administrative regulations that created the impression that entering Europe was easy and without legal consequences.
He further explained that some recent decisions by the Spanish judiciary, which have limited the immediate processing for the return of irregular migrants at sea, have led some individuals to believe that their chances of being returned are lower if they enter by sea. This perception has consequently caused crossings by swimming to become the primary method of irregular migration.
Regarding reports of increased fatalities in Ceuta, El Felfal stated that Moroccan officials are continuing to investigate the veracity of this information, the actual number of victims, and their identities and nationalities in cooperation with the Spanish government to complete the necessary legal procedures.
While El Felfal reported 11 deaths in this incident, the newspaper El País reported that the number of bodies recovered from the waters around Ceuta had reached 88. Spanish security sources also announced on Saturday that approximately 69,500 irregular migrants who had entered Ceuta in recent days had been returned to Morocco.
