Moroccan Media Criticize Spanish Police Report on Ceuta Migrant Influx

Moroccan media have criticized a Spanish police report that accused Morocco's security forces of failures during an influx of tens of thousands of migrants into the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

Moroccan news site Hespress on Friday called the report particularly weak, stating it lacked material evidence and contained glaring contradictions. More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented surge that left scores dead and sparked European Union infighting over migration. The Spanish police report, seen by AFP, flagged a Moroccan police response of total permissiveness that it said facilitated the rush, with some officers directing migrants towards the water.

The report claimed Moroccan police numbers around the border post were clearly smaller than usual and officers made no serious attempt to stem the surge. Moroccan news site Le Desk on Thursday described the report as botched, pointing to factual errors including a reference to June 30 instead of July 30. The chaos that transpired in Ceuta, where an estimated 10,000 migrants remain living in makeshift tents on a beach, has led to a sense of unease.

Locals refer to July 30 as the invasion. There have been frequent outbreaks of trouble, including migrants throwing rocks and corrosive substances at police and soldiers, and a mob of locals trashing migrant shanty towns. Police have investigated numerous violent and sexual crimes during the crisis. Ceuta, along with Melilla, represents the EU's only land border with Africa.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has consistently avoided blaming Morocco, noting there was no solid proof that Morocco orchestrated the migrant rush. Protesters clashed with police in central Madrid this week following a mass rally over the Spanish government's handling of the migrant crisis. Authorities in Ceuta are working to determine what to do with the remaining migrants, a process that could take months.