Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has rejected claims that Moroccan authorities orchestrated July’s deadly mass border crossing into Ceuta, saying Spain has found no evidence that Rabat planned or carried out the incident.
Speaking in parliament on Thursday, Sánchez responded to a Spanish police report that suggested the arrival of more than 70,000 people into Ceuta was not a spontaneous migration event but a planned effort 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,” Sánchez said.
However, Sánchez said Moroccan police allowed crossings to take place during a key 10-hour period on July 30, when arrivals peaked. He added that Spanish authorities had not yet determined whether this was due to inaction or an inability to contain the influx.
The police report, commissioned by a Spanish High Court judge and seen by Reuters, alleged that Moroccan security forces were initially deployed in smaller numbers than usual near the border area and did not make serious attempts to disperse crowds.
The report said some uniformed Moroccan officers gave directions towards the crossing point, while other unidentified individuals appeared to guide or monitor the movement of people.
It also cited interviews with migrants who said they had received guidance from Moroccan security forces before crossing.
However, the report did not identify individual officers or provide independently verified evidence of orders from Moroccan authorities.
Moroccan authorities did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, but they have previously denied allowing the crossings, blaming traffickers, social media rumours and other factors.
The migration crisis has triggered protests in Ceuta and other Spanish cities, with residents criticising the government’s handling of the situation.
Ceuta authorities said more than 10,000 migrants, including unaccompanied minors, remain in makeshift camps or other locations across the city.
Residents have called on authorities to return people without the right to remain to their countries of origin or relocate them to other parts of Spain.
The protests have increased political pressure on Sánchez’s government, while officials have accused opponents of using the crisis for political purposes.
Finland and Sweden deployed fighter aircraft on Thursday after a group of Russian military planes was detected over the Gulf of Finland, the Finnis...
Twelve Kazakh military personnel died after being swept out to sea during a naval training exercise in the western Mangistau region, authorities sa...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ...
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low on Thursday, as Iran reiterated that it will neither enter into new negotiations with the United States nor re-open the Strait as long as its conditions are not met, despite recent indirect talks in New York mediated by Qatar.
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The 81st UN General Assembly continues in New York on Wednesday, with another day of high-level speeches and diplomatic meetings. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and international cooperation remain at the centre of discussions.
The 81st UN General Assembly has wrapped up its third day in New York on Thursday, with world leaders delivering high-level speeches and holding diplomatic meetings.
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will hold an urgent high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. The meeting comes as Tehran seeks to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.
Finland and Sweden deployed fighter aircraft on Thursday after a group of Russian military planes was detected over the Gulf of Finland, the Finnish Air Force reported on Friday (25 September).
Here’s your AnewZ Daily Brief for 25 September 2026, with five key developments from the third day of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Xi Jinping touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday evening to a welcome that was fairly unprecedented. President Donald Trump was there on the tarmac to greet him personally, which is something no sitting U.S. president had done for a visiting foreign leader in six decades.
The U.S. Senate narrowly rejected a resolution on Thursday that would have required President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran or seek congressional authorisation, as Democrats sought to put Republicans on the record over the increasingly unpopular conflict ahead of November's midterm elections.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday, 24 September, for talks focused on trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the war with Iran.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment