The warnings came for days, sometimes just hours before the surge. Intelligence circles had alerted the government to the risk that tens of thousands of people could reach Ceuta – but no measures were taken. Only late Thursday evening did the Interior Ministry order reinforcements, as The Objective reports.
The intelligence services considered it likely that King Mohammed VI would show an “act of generosity” at the border, fitting the throne celebration. In the ten days prior, around 1,000 people had swum to Ceuta – a test run, as the sources interpreted it. In the end, up to 75,000 migrants crossed the border, the largest documented migration crisis of the city.
The Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional were overwhelmed and primarily tended to the injured. Sources regret that the government did not deploy the military from the start, although garrisons in Ceuta and Melilla were ready. The Moroccan gendarmerie “looked on passively” while migrants streamed over the mole and the access road.
The Interior Ministry spoke of “exemplary” cooperation with Morocco, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the influx a “violation of territorial integrity.” However, the reinforcement consisted of only about 30 officers and one boat, which suffered a defect a few days later.
Source: de.euronews.com
