Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Snchez on Thursday rejected suggestions that Moroccan authorities helped orchestrate the deadly mass crossing of migrants into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, even as pressure mounted over his handling of the crisis. Speaking in parliament, he said no institution had given Spain solid evidence that Morocco had planned or carried out the incident.
A day earlier, tens of thousands of people had joined protests in cities across Spain over the continuing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, calling for solutions and demanding Snchez’s resignation. The crossings in late July left thousands stranded in the territory and raised questions over how the breach unfolded.
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In late July, around 72,000 migrants swam, climbed and later charged into Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa with a population of 84,000. Most either returned to Morocco or were sent back across the border within days, but the national government said about 5,000 people, including 1,200 minors, were still in the city weeks later. Ceuta’s local government has put the figure higher.
Snchez said 141 people died while trying to reach the city, though neither his office nor Spain’s interior ministry explained how that figure was arrived at. Important questions remain over what triggered the mass crossing, which the Spanish government has said was fuelled by an online social media campaign.
Earlier this week, Spanish media reported that a police report had pointed to the alleged permissiveness of Moroccan security forces during the incident, but Spanish officials denied that the document had blamed Rabat. On Thursday, however, Snchez said that during a 10-hour period on July 30, when arrivals were at their peak, Morocco’s Gendarmerie police “allowed the border to be crossed” in Ceuta.
While his government has largely avoided criticising Morocco, Snchez condemned remarks by two Moroccan ministers that questioned the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s other territory in North Africa. He said his government had summoned Morocco’s ambassador in Madrid over the comments. Snchez also said the government would release key reports on the border breach, described as the deadliest in living memory, though no timeline or details were given. Ceuta and Melilla are the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.
The crisis in Ceuta has kept political and humanitarian pressure on Snchez, with protests, unanswered questions over the border breach and continued scrutiny of Morocco’s role all remaining central to the story.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
