Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has asked the country’s National Police to verify a report that allegedly links Moroccan security forces to the unprecedented movement of migrants toward Ceuta at the end of July, AFP reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ruled out any involvement by Morocco in the crisis. Instead, he blamed Russia, Israel and what he called an “ultra-right international,” accusing them of spreading false information about the influx of migrants.
But El Español newspaper said a document allegedly submitted by the National Center for Immigration and Borders (CENIF) to Spain’s National Court attributed a role to Moroccan security personnel in the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta on July 30 and 31.
Sources at the ministry said Marlaska has asked National Police Director General Francisco Pardo to determine whether the report exists, whether its contents are accurate, and when the security services became aware of the information.
Marlaska said information related to an event classified as a matter of national security should reach the country’s senior security authorities without delay.
Over 70,000 migrants irregularly crossed from Morocco into the tiny Spanish territory between July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union's only two land borders with Africa, prompting alarm across the bloc. At least 100 people died in the attempt, according to Ceuta's local authorities.
In an interview with Cadena SER radio, Sanchez said, “When people talk and speculate about the participation of Moroccan authorities, I deny this outright.”
Protests over security in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta escalated into clashes between locals and police last week, a month after a mass influx of migrants from Morocco.
Police charged protesters at a beach after a group of demonstrators moved into the area where migrants have been sleeping, with some belongings set on fire during the disturbances, images broadcast on Spanish public television showed.
Earlier, dozens of protesters staged a sit-in to temporarily prevent Red Cross vehicles from reaching the beach to distribute food to hundreds of migrants staying in the area.
