Rabat – A Moroccan rights group on Saturday called for an independent inquiry to be launched into the causes of the influx of tens of thousands of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this week.
As many as 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta in recent days, mostly swimming around the small border post that juts into the Mediterranean Sea, in an unprecedented surge that prompted an international crisis for Spain.
The mass crossing into the tiny Spanish territory resulted in at least 67 deaths, according to Spanish authorities, and led to clashes with Moroccan police on the shared border.
But by Saturday Spain’s interior minister said almost all who crossed had left.
The Moroccan Association of Human Rights called in a statement for “a serious and independent inquiry to be launched in order to shed full light on the circumstances and causes that led to the recent exodus, and to establish who is responsible”.
It also condemned “the worrying silence of officials and institutions” which have still not responded publicly to the crisis.
@cbsnewsVideo footage shows migrants crossing into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, with many entering on foot or by sea. Spanish state TV reported that 2,000 to 3,000 people had crossed, with the sudden surge prompting a coordinated response from Spanish and Moroccan authorities.
The group said this had “contributed to creating a climate of widespread mobilisation” among people flocking to the country’s north to attempt to enter the territory.
The NGO said it held the Moroccan state “fully responsible” for the influx, fuelled by “public anger at the failure of policies” in the country.
The images from Ceuta have prompted right-wing and far-right politicians in Europe and the United States to call for even tighter control of their nations’ borders.
Ceuta, a territory of 18.5 square kilometres (seven square miles), and the nearby enclave of Melilla are Europe’s only two land borders with Africa.
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Source: AFP
