Morocco Blames Social Media, Traffickers for Ceuta Migrant Crossings

Morocco's Interior Ministry says the recent mass crossing of migrants into the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla was fuelled by misinformation on social media, human trafficking networks and misinterpretation of a Spanish court ruling.

About 40,000 people were involved in the rush into Ceuta and 1,135 were stopped from entering Melilla, the ministry said in a statement.

At least 11 people died while trying to cross the border, the ministry said. The figure was significantly smaller than that provided by the Spanish government, which on Sunday said it had recovered 72 bodies, up from the 67 it had previously reported.

However, Morocco's death toll may have been limited to those deaths occurring on the Moroccan side of the border, with the ministry adding that it was fact-checking reports of more deaths across the border.

The statement otherwise echoed comments from Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who over the weekend blamed people-smuggling networks for exploiting vulnerable migrants by spreading misleading interpretations of a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling.

The ruling said migrants intercepted at sea could not be summarily returned in the absence of a physical barrier.

"Morocco isn't any threat to Ceuta or the rest of Spain. It's a fully reliable partner," he said, adding there had been no intelligence indicating a mass entry was imminent.

While the vast majority of the migrants who entered Ceuta left within 48 hours, the mass crossing caused alarm across the European Union, prompting 22 of its member states to call for coordinated action to protect external borders and other measures.

Italy also suspended passport-free Schengen travel arrangements with Spain for a month, prompting criticism from Spain's centre-left prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who had already confirmed those who entered Ceuta irregularly would not be able to travel onwards to mainland Spain.

"In the current international context, the EU cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction," Mr Sánchez wrote in a letter to the EU Commission and European Council presidents.

On Saturday, Spanish police began installing a 500-metre floating barrier off its border with Morocco, blocking the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main points used by Moroccans trying to enter Ceuta.

The AUGC union for Spain's Civil Guard gendarmerie also said it was asking for reinforcements of at least 200 officers and warned that more work was needed to stop people swimming around the barrier.