ISTANBUL
A mass attempt by around 40,000 people to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta ended with 11 deaths, Morocco’s Interior Ministry said Sunday.
Ministry spokesman Rachid El Khalfi announced the figures at an evening news conference on recent events at crossing points leading to Ceuta and Melilla, marking the first official comment by Rabat on the mass migration attempts.
“The actual number of migrants reached approximately 40,000 people heading toward the city of Ceuta and around 1,135 people heading toward the city of Melilla,” El Khalfi said.
“All those who managed to reach Melilla were returned immediately,” he added.
El Khalfi said one person died after falling from a rocky area near Ceuta, while 10 others drowned during the mass crossing attempts.
He said authorities found that the crossings were not spontaneous but were driven by a combination of factors, including misinformation spread on social media, human trafficking networks, and what he described as misinterpretations of recent legal and administrative developments which created the impression that migrants could reach Europe without facing immediate consequences.
He added that recent Spanish court rulings restricting the use of immediate returns for some irregular migrants intercepted at sea had reinforced the belief among some would-be migrants that reaching Ceuta by sea could help them avoid immediate return.
El Khalfi said Moroccan authorities were continuing to coordinate with their Spanish counterparts to verify reports of additional deaths in Ceuta, including the identities and nationalities of those involved.
Spanish media, however, reported that the number of bodies recovered in Ceuta had risen to 88 as authorities completed a 500-meter floating security barrier at the Tarajal border crossing to curb further irregular migration attempts.
Over the last several days, tens of thousands of Moroccans have gathered near the border fence in an attempt to reach Ceuta and continue onward to Europe through irregular migration routes.
Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish-administered enclaves on Morocco’s northern coast and constitute the European Union’s only land borders with the African continent.
