Spanish PM defends handling of Ceuta crisis, refuses to pin Morocco

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday rejected, again, suggestions that Moroccan authorities helped orchestrate the deadly mass crossing of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, as pressure grows over his handling of the crisis.

A day earlier, tens of thousands of Spaniards in cities across the country joined protests against the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, demanding solutions and Sánchez's resignation.

In late July, some 72-thousand migrants swam, scrambled and later charged into Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa with just 84-thousand residents.

Most returned to Morocco or were ushered back over the border within days, but around 5-thousand, including 1,200 minors, remain in the city weeks later, according to the national government. Ceuta’s local government cites a higher figure.

Sánchez said 141 people died attempting to reach the city, but neither his office nor Spain's interior ministry explained how they reached the figure.

Major questions linger over what caused the mass crossing, which the Spanish government says was fueled by an online campaign on social media.

Earlier this week, Spanish media reported that a police report had highlighted the alleged permissiveness of Moroccan security forces in the incident, but Spanish officials denied that the document had blamed Rabat.

However, on Thursday, Sánchez said that for a 10-hour period on July 30 when migrant arrivals peaked, Morocco’s Gendarmerie police “allowed the border to be crossed," in Ceuta.

His government has consistently avoided criticizing Morocco, but Sánchez condemned comments from two Moroccan ministers questioning the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other territory in North Africa. His government has summoned Morocco's ambassador in Madrid over the comments, Sánchez said.

While rejecting suggestions that Moroccan authorities helped orchestrate the incident, Sanchez said Moroccan police “allowed the border to be crossed."

Sánchez said his government would release key reports about the border breach, but did not say when they would be made public or what they would entail.

He also elevated the official death toll from the event to 141 people, up significantly from the most-recent estimate of a total 96 in Spain and Morocco, provided by authorities in Ceuta and Morocco's National Human Rights Council. He cited the revised figure twice, but neither his office nor the interior ministry could say how it had been tallied when contacted by The Associated Press.

Opposition leader Alberto Feijóo strongly criticized Sanchez stance on Ceuta in the parliamentary session, saying, "Us Spaniards at the same time perplexed and outraged in the face of the violation of our territorial integrity. I will start saying the same that millions of people have said yesterday in cities across Spain, despite the boycott from the government, Ceutis (people of Ceuta) we will not leave you alone, the State has not surrendered.”

Sánchez is facing mounting scrutiny amid a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, where the flood of thousands of migrants has angered residents in the tiny community, which is ill-equipped to handle such an influx.

Top government officials have at times provided conflicting information about the event. Last week, the defense ministry said Spain’s intelligence agency provided prior warning of the border rush, while the interior ministry and others said it had not.

The two exclaves have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.

Sánchez said his government would release key reports about the border breach, the deadliest in living memory, but his government did not say when they would be made public nor what they would entail.