The tensions between Morocco and Spain are a concern for Driss Lachgar, first secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP). He calls on Madrid to discuss with Rabat the future of Sebta and Melilla.
Anxiety is gaining the ranks of many Moroccan mothers who are waiting for the return of their children who took part in the expedition by swimming or on foot towards Ceuta. They have no news and do not know what has become of them, whether they have been housed in reception centers or whether they are among the many others thrown into the sea or pushed back to Morocco.
The situation remains tense in Sebta. A few days after the massive arrival of migrants, about a thousand of them, mainly minors and adolescents, are still wandering the streets. Local authorities are studying their situation on a case-by-case basis while the government has asked the autonomous regions for help to prevent the humanitarian situation from worsening.
Spain has expelled about forty Yemeni refugees despite their status as asylum seekers. This is at least the denunciation made on Monday by the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH).
Spain is calling on Morocco to tighten border controls to limit the massive influx of migrants to Ceuta.
The mass entry of migrants in less than 72 hours into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, from certain Moroccan beaches, under the powerless gaze of the security forces, has exacerbated the already palpable crisis between Morocco and Spain. Morocco, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, refuses to take responsibility for such a migratory flow.
Morocco "has not had any contact with Spain" since the migration crisis in Ceuta, following the entry of Brahim Ghali onto Spanish soil, Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, assured on Sunday.
French diplomacy is working for a resumption of dialogue between Morocco and Spain. Jean-Yves Le Drian made this known on Sunday, during a television program.
In Ceuta, there have been multiple scenes of forced expulsions and violence committed by the Spanish security forces in recent days, who throw migrants, including many vulnerable children, into the sea. This is at least the denunciation made by Amnesty International Spain.
Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun reacted to the new tensions between Morocco and Spain. He stated that "Ceuta is Moroccan land".
In reaction to the migration crisis in Ceuta and the Brahim Ghali affair, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just instructed its ambassadors in the 27 European Union countries to "counter Morocco’s diplomatic offensive".
The overheated relations between Madrid and Rabat will allow, in an irreversible way, to get Morocco out of the clichés under which it appears in the eyes of Spain and even of Europe as a whole. This is the opinion of the French daily Le Monde which analyzes the migration issue from different diplomatic and geopolitical angles.