Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Thursday they have found no evidence that Moroccan authorities orchestrated or took part in a deadly border rush into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July.
Sanchez's comments in the lower house of parliament followed a police report that emerged this week saying that the mass entry into Ceuta was not a spontaneous migration event but a planned and phased operation designed to overwhelm border controls.
"I can assure you that no institution – not the diplomatic service, nor the European Commission, nor any international body – has provided the Spanish government with any solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the incident. None whatsoever," Sanchez said.
However, he said Morocco's Gendarmerie police did allow crossings to occur during a key 10-hour period on July 30, when migrant arrivals peaked. Spanish authorities had yet to determine whether this was due to inaction or inability to contain the influx, Sanchez added.
The police report, seen by Reuters, alleged that Moroccan security forces were initially deployed in smaller numbers than usual near the Tarajal breakwater separating the enclave from the North African country and did not make a serious attempt to disperse the crowds.
