Moroccan and sub-Saharan migrants have set their sights on Melilla, the other Spanish enclave located on the Moroccan coast. More than 86 people managed to cross the barrier from Morocco, while the day before, 6,000 people had managed to reach Sebta by swimming, under the passive gaze of the Moroccan military.
Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, reacted to the massive arrival of Moroccan migrants in Sebta on Monday. She called on Morocco to "prevent irregular departures".
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had to cancel his trip to Paris where he was to participate in a summit on financing African economies. The influx of thousands of Moroccan migrants to Sebta (Ceuta) was the reason for this cancellation.
From Monday to Tuesday, 5,000 Moroccan migrants, including a thousand minors, managed to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. This is the first time in 24 hours that so many people have managed to cross the border between Morocco and Spain.
The family of Khalid Mouamou, found dead in a center in Guipúzco (Basque Country), intends to take legal action if the autopsy of the body reveals that the 18-year-old Moroccan was a victim of ill-treatment.
The European Commission presented on Tuesday a strategy aimed at increasing "voluntary returns" to the countries of origin of migrants residing illegally in EU countries. Morocco is affected by this operation as on Tuesday several dozen Moroccans arrived in Ceuta.
The Spanish National Police launched on Tuesday an operation to repatriate Moroccan migrants who recently tried to reach Ceuta en masse by swimming. These returns, which are not expulsions, are carried out by mutual agreement between the Spanish and Moroccan governments. Already about thirty Moroccans have been repatriated.
The far-right party Vox has called on the Spanish government to sanction Morocco for allegedly "allowing the arrival of dozens of illegal immigrants" via Ceuta, in retaliation for Spain’s hosting of the Polisario leader, Brahim Ghali.
The European Union must set up a substantial European fund to support Morocco’s efforts in migration control. This is the proposal made on Thursday by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, before the Foreign Affairs Committee of Congress.
The lifeless body found on the beach of Fnideq is indeed that of Souleymane, the young Moroccan who left Tangier in a kayak with two friends and disappeared at sea since April 13. His family has identified the body.
More than 18,000 unaccompanied minors, including Moroccans, have gone missing in Europe over the past three years. This is revealed by an investigation carried out by the Lost in Europe journalists’ collective.
Unaccompanied foreign minors receive a monthly sum more than ten times higher than the pension of a retiree. This is what can be read on an election poster of the ultranationalist formation Vox, the third political force in Spain since the 2019 legislative elections, creating real turmoil in the capital during this campaign period for the regional elections of May 4.