Rabat: We had previously warned of a surge in migrants following a Spanish court ruling on immigration

Rabat – Agencies: A senior Moroccan official told Agence France-Presse that his country had warned Spain, prior to the incident involving the influx of migrants into Ceuta, about the risks stemming from a Spanish court decision that exempted sea arrivals from immediate deportation. In recent days, around 60,000 people arrived in or attempted to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, most of them Moroccans. This large-scale influx led to overcrowding in Ceuta before thousands of migrants were returned to Morocco.

The senior Moroccan official, who spoke to the agency and several other media outlets on condition of anonymity, said that his authorities had alerted Madrid to the risks posed by the Spanish Supreme Court’s ruling that immediate return procedures do not apply to individuals arriving by sea. He said, “We made it clear that this judgment would create a problem, and indeed it did.”

For her part, Spanish government spokesperson Ilma Saiz stated, “There were no warnings or reports at any time indicating the scale of this unprecedented event.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke on Friday about misleading rumors spread by smuggling networks, which exploited this court decision.

According to the Moroccan official, communications with Spain on this matter began on July 22 or 23. He also confirmed that there had been no breakdown in Morocco’s security system. “It is an oversimplification to say that Morocco should have used force to stop the migrants; that shows a lack of understanding of this phenomenon,” he added, noting that security forces could not have confronted such a large number of people.

The official stressed that combating irregular migration is a shared responsibility, affirming that Rabat and Madrid had acted “as reliable partners” and continued to work “in full coordination” on migration issues. Saiz noted that “this exceptional response in such a short period would not have been possible without Morocco’s cooperation.”