Thousands of migrants were waiting to receive their meal on a beach in Ceuta when clashes broke out. Spanish police charged the crowd and used tear gas, causing hundreds of people to flee toward a road and a breakwater.
Siraj is only three years old. After reaching Ceuta by swimming with his parents and brother, this young Moroccan has lived for 26 days under a tent, without toilets, amid the abandoned warehouses of the El Tarajal industrial zone.
A preacher from Berkane was suspended after delivering a sermon devoted to citizenship and the collective departures to Ceuta. He notably called for reflection on the reasons driving young Moroccans to want to leave their country.
As Spanish media discuss energy levers that could be used against Morocco following the Ceuta crisis, a power cut plunged the Congress Defence Committee into darkness as it met to hear Minister Margarita Robles.
At the height of the Ceuta crisis, José Manuel Albares and Nasser Bourita exchanged messages and spoke as many as 27 times in a single day. Morocco denied any responsibility for the mass arrivals, while Madrid now rules out the possibility that Rabat was issuing a warning.
Morocco is gradually advancing its interests vis-à-vis Spain by combining immigration, the economy, energy and territorial claims, without crossing the threshold of open conflict. This is the analysis of Samuel Morales, a Spanish lieutenant colonel specializing in so-called “grey zone” strategies.
Ahmed Toufiq mentioned Ceuta before Mohammed VI before recalling the use of a Sufi work in the mobilization of Moroccans to “liberate the occupied territories.” Amid heightened tensions with Spain, this sequence has drawn attention, without constituting an official claim.
In Madrid, the government describes Morocco as a “reliable and loyal” neighbour. In the Canary Islands, a regional official says exactly the opposite and accuses Rabat of playing with “marked cards”. Two opposing Spanish messages, delivered on the same day.
Pedro Sánchez is convening an extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday devoted to Ceuta. The Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries, intelligence services and the chief of the armed forces will meet after the migration crisis originating in Morocco at the end of July.
The president of UD Las Palmas, Miguel Ángel Ramírez, launched a verbal attack against Morocco before a match in Ceuta. The club executive asserted the Canaries’ Spanish identity and promised to mobilize his club if it were challenged.
Several studies published within Spain’s Ministry of Defence environment analyse migration flows as a possible instrument of pressure in relations between states. Three works devoted to Morocco, hybrid threats and Spanish strategy place migration crises at the heart of Madrid’s security considerations.
Following the Ceuta migration crisis, Morocco is said to have strengthened checks targeting certain Algerian and Tunisian travelers. At Mohammed V Airport in particular, not having a return ticket or hotel reservation could lead to refusal of entry.