The Canarian Government has expressed its solidarity with Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta following the entry of thousands of migrants from Morocco, and has demanded that the Spanish government “promote without further delay a solution that must be shared”.
The Canarian response mentioned that the islands “know this situation well” having been the main entry route for migrants by sea in recent years. The regional government has constantly appealed for more support from the Spanish state to tackle the problem.
In recent days between 50,000 and 60,000 migrants have entered the city of Ceuta, which has a population of 84,000. Most have entered by swimming around a breakwater on the border. During the crossings, at least 59 people have died, mostly by drowning.
Spain claims that 48,500 of the migrants have since voluntarily returned to Moroccan territory
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, arrived in Ceuta on Friday morning where he said that the mass crossings were a “violation of Spain’s territorial integrity”. He claimed that the mass crossings resulted from “people trafficking mafias” who have informed potential migrants that a recent High Court decision in Spain means that arrivals by sea cannot be immediately deported.
While Spain and Morocco are both officially claiming that relations are good and blaming the arrivals on mafias, several sources are accusing Morocco of deliberately relaxing border controls and may be using migrants as a diplomatic weapon to put pressure on Spain.
This was the alleged reason for an earlier influx of around 8,000 migrants in Ceuta in 2021, which came after Spain had agreed to permit the leader of the Polisario Front, which is fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara territory, to be treated in a Madrid hospital.
Sánchez recently visited Algeria in an attempt to improve relations between Spain and Morocco’s neighbour, a move that is likely to annoy Morocco.
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