Juan Jesús Vivas says influx seen as ‘at least encouraged or permitted’ by Rabat, as Spain demands EU solidarity Explainer: why is Ceuta a migration flashpoint? A growing chorus of…

Juan Jesús Vivas says influx seen as ‘at least encouraged or permitted’ by Rabat, as Spain demands EU solidarity A growing chorus of voices has accused Morocco of helping to fuel the crisis in Ceuta, with the leader of the Spanish enclave describing last week’s border crossings as an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity that was seen as being “if not orchestrated, at least encouraged or permitted by Morocco”. Spanish officials ⁠said on Monday that an estimated 69,500 people who had arrived late last week in Ceuta, a tiny Spanish territory in north Africa, had returned to Morocco in recent days. About 2,500 people who had made the crossing were believed to still be in Ceuta. The extraordinary influx had overwhelmed the city of 84,000 people and set off a political crisis across the EU as some member states laid blame on Spain. In Ceuta, leaders pointed to the broader picture of what had transpired. “It’s an atrocity,” said Juan Jesús Vivas, the long-serving conservative leader of the territory. “There are 88 bodies in the morgue, and there are more on the other side of the border.” He said local people watched the events play out with a mix of sadness, worry and anguish. “People see this not as a migration crisis; it was fundamentally an attack, a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,” Vivas told El País newspaper. “People felt that this, if not orchestrated, was at least encouraged or permitted by Morocco.” He drew a parallel with May 2021, when Rabat loosened border controls, allowing 10,000 people to cross into Ceuta over the course of two days, during a diplomatic standoff over Madrid’s decision to allow a Western Sahara independence leader to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain. This time around, analysts have suggested that Spain’s recent rapprochement with Rabat’s arch-enemy Algeria could have triggered a response from Morocco.