Spain disregarded Ceuta warnings before migrant rush, say border workers' unions
Unions said written warnings went unanswered as social media and a court ruling helped drive a crossing that left 94 people dead, officials said.
- AUGC and SUP warned the Spanish government for weeks about a potential surge of more than 70,000 migrants into Ceuta, yet officials took little action before the massive arrival on July 29.
- A June 29 court ruling created a legal loophole by stating migrants could only be pushed back if they crossed a physical barrier, which criminal networks exploited to encourage arrivals.
- Rachid Sbihi, spokesperson for the AUGC Civil Guard in Ceuta, said the ruling, criminal gangs, and social media formed an "explosive cocktail" that overwhelmed conventional police infrastructure.
- The rush resulted in 94 confirmed deaths, with Spanish authorities reporting 80 deaths and Moroccan authorities recovering 14 bodies; the Spanish Interior Ministry installed a floating barrier 48 hours after July 30.
- Morocco continues to spend around €500 million annually on border control, while the European Commission is working with Spain and Morocco to investigate last month's frontier events.
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The Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa is grappling with a severe migration crisis. Tens of thousands of migrants attempted to reach Ceuta by sea or by storming the border fences. Around a hundred people have died in the process. According to the mayor, 8,000 to 11,000 migrants are still in his city. Follow all updates in this live blog.
If one thing Ceuta has shown is that disinformation runs faster than patrol cars, that mafias understand our laws better than those who draft them, and that domestic politics is able to burn down any border, even when diplomacy has already extinguished the fire.
Spain disregarded Ceuta warnings before migrant rush, say border workers’ unions
CEUTA, Spain, Aug 15 (Reuters) - In the weeks before a rush of more than 70,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, border workers warned Spain's central government that more people, spurred on by social media, were arriving by sea, adding they...
Spain disregarded Ceuta warnings before migrant rush, say border workers' unions
In the weeks before a rush of more than 70,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, border workers warned Spain's central government that more people, spurred on by social media, were arriving by sea, adding they feared an escalation.
The unprecedented arrangement in the autonomous city did not ensure the impermeability of the fence; Morocco's position remained fundamental.
Ceuta (Spain): In the weeks leading up to the influx of more than 70,000 immigrants into the Spanish pocket of Ceuta, border control workers warned the central Spanish Government of the arrival by sea of increasing numbers of people, driven by social media, adding that they feared an escalation.
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