2021 Morocco–Spain border incident
Part of the Morocco–Spain relations within the Western Sahara conflict
Map of Ceuta and Melilla, with the Spanish Plazas de Soberanía at North Africa
Date17 May 2021 - 23 August 2021[1]
Location Ceuta
 Melilla
 Spain
TypeInternational Incident and migratorial crisis
ParticipantsBetween 6000-9000 people
Deaths2[2]

The 2021 Morocco–Spain border incident was a migratory incident caused by the massive crossing of people along the beaches of the border between both countries in the direction of Ceuta and Melilla in Spain that began on 17 May 2021.[3] It originated due to a deterioration in diplomatic relations between the Moroccan monarchy and the Government of Spain, after the latter admitted the transfer of the main representative of the Saharawi independence movement Polisario Front to a Spanish hospital in La Rioja, in April 2021.[4][5] A month after the hospitalization, the Moroccan security forces located on the border in Ceuta (and to a lesser extent those in Melilla) relaxed the last control mechanisms, allowing the passage of migrants from Morocco to the Spanish city,[6] most of whom made the journey by swimming.

Approximately 8,000 illegal immigrants, of which 1,500 were minors,[7] crossed the border of the autonomous city of Ceuta by the breakwaters of the beaches of Benzú and El Tarajal.[8] The Spanish government responded by moving security forces to the area and implementing a pushback mechanism. Most of the new arrivals were returned to Morocco within a few days of the incident.

To date, this is the largest irregular entry of people across the border in Spain.[9]

Background

Spain and Morocco have a bilateral agreement aimed at controlling the arrival of migrants to Spanish territory. The agreement entails cooperation on the part of the African country when it comes to limiting access at the border of the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla; both constitute Spanish enclaves located north of Morocco, and are the only land entry point to the European Union from the African continent.[10][11]

In April 2021, Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front—the main Saharawi political movement that claims the decolonization and independence of Western Sahara, in the hands of Morocco—was admitted for COVID-19 in a hospital in Logroño under a false identity. According to the weekly Jeune Afrique, he would have been hospitalized for digestive cancer.[12][13]

The hospitalization provoked a negative reaction from the Moroccan government, which summoned the Spanish ambassador to the country to express its repudiation of the act,[14] and even considered —according to sources close to the Moroccan government— granting political asylum to the leader of the Catalan independence movement Carles Puigdemont.[15][16] For its part, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by justifying Ghali's entry into Spanish territory "for strictly humanitarian reasons".[9][10][17] As a result of this, a diplomatic crisis broke out between Madrid and Rabat.[9][18]

Karima Benyaich, Moroccan ambassador to Spain, stated in a statement about Ghali's hospitalization that "there are acts that have consequences and they have to be assumed",[19] and described the Spanish action as "inconsistent with the spirit of friendship and good neighborly relations between the two countries."[14] Later she would be called for consultation by both governments,[20][21] action that is usually considered as a tense point in diplomatic relations between two nations.[22] In a statement on 20 May 2021, the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, confirmed that the discomfort in Rabat had its origin in the transfer of Ghali, protesting the fact that he had been received in Spain with a false passport and identity.[23]

Developments

One of the fenced breakwaters, in Benzú (Ceuta), where the massive crossing took place.

On the night of 16 May 2021, a rumor broke out that the Moroccan security forces on the border between Morocco and the Spanish city of Ceuta had relaxed control and allowed the passage. According to statements by the Spanish police, they showed an "unusual passivity".[24] According to the Rabat government, the Moroccan gendarmerie was exhausted "after the celebrations at the end of Ramadan."[23]

In the early hours of 17 May, at approximately 02:00 hours (GMT+1), a wave of migrants from Morocco began to arrive on the shores of Ceuta. Between 17 and 18 May more than 8,000 immigrants arrived in this city, among whom were approximately 1,500 minors. The vast majority of them swam across the border.[25] The sudden arrival of immigrants caused a humanitarian crisis due to the inability of Spain to deal with the situation.[26]

On the morning of 18 May, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced that those who had arrived irregularly would be "immediately returned" according to the bilateral agreement signed between Spain and Morocco.[14] The Spanish Ministry of Defense also responded by moving 200 police officers to the area to support the 1,200 regular border patrol units, which would place armored vehicles along the beach to intercept new arrivals.[27][26] Volunteers from the Spanish Red Cross also went to the scene to assist some immigrants suffering from hypothermia and severe fatigue after swimming across the breakwater area that marks the boundary between the two countries.[14] The Spanish Government also enabled a fast processing system with the aim of speeding up the return process.[28] Some migrants affirmed, through statements to Eldiario.es, that the Moroccan police had allowed them to cross the border.[29] According to statements by some residents of Castillejos, a Moroccan city near the Ceuta border, young people from the city made the journey to the Spanish enclave encouraged by the false idea that famous soccer players were present in the Spanish city.[7][30][31][32][33][34][35]

In the middle of the afternoon of the same day, the Spanish government announced that it had processed the expulsion of 4,000 immigrants.[28] The minors were transferred to Piniés and to different naval bases in the area, where a quarantine was applied to them according to the regulation enabled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] Likewise, there was a greater flow of arrivals to the autonomous city of Melilla, also located in northern Morocco, where 80 immigrants crossed the double fence that separates the two nations.[14]

On 20 May, the Moroccan ambassador in Madrid, Karima Benyaich, assured that she would not return to her embassy in Spain while the leader of the Saharawi Polisario remained in Spanish territory, recognizing the matter as the "true cause" of the crisis; and lamented the "campaign of media hostility" by the Spanish media against the African country.[23]

De-escalation

19 May was the turning point in the border incident, after the Government of Morocco gave express orders to control the transit of immigrants from its side of the border.[36] For the early hours of the day, after the effect of the Moroccan police reinforcement at the border and the pushbacks by the Spanish security forces,[37] the flow of arrivals had been significantly reduced; and, although these still occurred, they took place in small groups and spaced out over time. The Red Cross confirmed that the number of people served was lower than in the early morning hours of the previous days.[38] Meanwhile, in the Moroccan cities near the border, there were clashes with the security forces of the Alawite country, led by groups trying to reach Spain.[39]

On the night of 20 May, the government delegate in Melilla announced that the Armed Forces would be deployed on the border of the autonomous city with the aim of reinforcing border surveillance and security.[40] The Spanish Government designed a distribution plan for the different autonomous communities for minors who were trapped in Ceuta.[41] As of 23 May there were at least 438 unaccompanied foreign minors being cared for by social services in the city.[42]

Reactions

Various sources within Spain criticized Moroccan irredentism on Ceuta and Melilla; The Istiqlal Party of the Maghreb country, with Moroccan ultranationalist line, expressed in May 2021 that the Spanish action of welcoming Ghali "seriously tarnishes" its bilateral relations.[43] The Polisario Front questioned Istiqlal, reminding the Spanish government that the aforementioned party, in its relations, defends that "the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco will be incomplete without recovering all the occupied Moroccan lands, including Ceuta and Melilla".[44]

The president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, flew to the area.[45] The Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, warned that the devolutions "must be done with judicial surveillance."[46] Unidas Podemos, as a government partner, asked that the actions of the army be detailed, especially in relation to the care of minors.[47] The president of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, referred to the situation as "an invasion", and stated that the atmosphere in the city resembled "a state of exception".[48]

From the opposition, the Popular Party blamed the Spanish Government for the crisis and demanded the "immediate devolution" of those who arrived.[49] The leader of the Vox political party, Santiago Abascal, characterized the incident as a "Moroccan invasion" by "soldiers obeying their government," and called for action through the use of military force.[50][51]

From Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed solidarity with Spain and called for consensus to produce a new Pact on Migration; For her part, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, warned the Government of Morocco that "Spanish borders are European borders". Other high officials of the European Union also expressed their opinions: Charles Michel, President of the European Council, David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, and Margaritis Schinás, European Commissioner.[52]

The former vice president of the Italian council of ministers and leader of the far-right Lega Nord party, Matteo Salvini, applauded the action of the Spanish government on the border with Ceuta in a tweet that said in Italian: "Spain, with a leftist government, will send the army to the border to block the entry of illegal immigrants".[53]

Amnesty International criticized the fact that the migrants were used as "political pawns", calling for an investigation into the alleged use of violence by the Spanish security forces, and calling on the European Union not to "make a blind eye" before the possible abuses that could have been committed in community territory. He also asked to guarantee the protection of minors arriving in the European country and denounced the "long history of abuse of the rights of asylum seekers and migrants" by Morocco.[54]

Harassment of a Red Cross volunteer

After the event, several media outlets broadcast images in which a Red Cross volunteer hugged a migrant on the beach in Ceuta. Hours after they went viral, however, the volunteer closed her social media accounts due to a series of mass abuses and threats from anonymous users.[55] and characters linked to the Spanish extreme right, such as Cristina Seguí, co-founder of Vox,[56] and Hermann Tertsch.[57] The young woman later intervened on RTVE to explain that, after the doxxing operation, users had revealed her personal information and had insulted her with racist insults; The young woman described the hug as "the most normal thing in the world", stating that the migrant was crying after fighting against fatigue. After the statements, however, the young woman would end up receiving a multitude of messages of support through Twitter with the hashtag #GraciasLuna (translated as #ThanksLuna), among others, by the Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño; the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz; and the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jagan Chapagain.[58]

See also

References

  1. ↑ EFE/elDiario.es (20 August 2021). "El rey de Marruecos dice que desea abrir una etapa inédita con España" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  2. ↑ Echarri, Carmen (20 May 2021). "La Guardia Civil encuentra un segundo cadáver en el Tarajal". El Faro de Ceuta. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Unos 6.000 migrantes nadan desde Marruecos a Ceuta, enclave español en el norte de África". CNN (in Spanish). 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  4. ↑ CHARTE, MIGUEL (18 May 2021). "Mala relación con Marruecos desencadena crisis migratoria Ceuta". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Marruecos: La Legión toma las calles en Ceuta tras la entrada de cinco mil marroquíes este lunes". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Un vídeo capta a la policía marroquí abriendo la frontera de Ceuta a un grupo de inmigrantes". El País (in Spanish). 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  7. 1 2 Madrid, Claudia Vila Galán (20 May 2021). "Del colegio a la frontera: "Mandaron autobuses, los niños creían que era una excursión"". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Más de cien marroquíes entran en Ceuta bordeando los espigones marítimos fronterizos de Benzú y el Tarajal". Europa Press. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Varo, María Martín, Laura J. (18 May 2021). "El Ejército se despliega para controlar Ceuta tras la entrada de más de 8.000 inmigrantes". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. 1 2 "Morocco scolds Spain over virus help for independence leader". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "4 claves que explican la llegada récord de miles de migrantes desde Marruecos al territorio español de Ceuta en dos días". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  12. ↑ González, Francisco Peregil, Miguel (23 April 2021). "El líder del Frente Polisario, hospitalizado en España". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "[Exclusif] Algérie-Maroc : le président de la RASD Brahim Ghali hospitalisé d'urgence en Espagne – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "More than 6,000 migrants reach Spain's north African enclave Ceuta". the Guardian. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  15. ↑ Cembrero, Ignacio (25 April 2021). "Marruecos se enoja con España por acoger al líder del Polisario enfermo". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Morocco grants asylum to former Catalan leader in response to Polisario visit to Spain". Middle East Monitor. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  17. ↑ 20minutos (22 April 2021). "El jefe del Frente Polisario está ingresado grave en un hospital de Logroño bajo un nombre falso "por razones humanitarias"". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ 20minutos (18 May 2021). "Quién es Brahim Ghali, el líder polisario que ha desatado una crisis migratoria con Marruecos sin precedentes". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ "Embajadora de Marruecos: "Hay actos que tienen consecuencias y se tienen que asumir"". Europa Press. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  20. ↑ Agencias (18 May 2021). "Marruecos llama a consultas a su embajadora en España". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  21. ↑ "España llama a consultas a la embajadora marroquí tras decir que "hay actos que tienen consecuencias"". El Español (in Spanish). 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  22. ↑ 20minutos (18 May 2021). "Marruecos llama a consultas a su embajadora en Madrid: "Hay actos que tienen consecuencias y se tienen que asumir"". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. 1 2 3 EFE (20 May 2021). "La embajadora de Marruecos no volverá mientras dure la crisis con España". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  24. ↑ Martín, María (19 May 2021). "Qué está pasando en Ceuta: claves de la crisis migratoria entre España y Marruecos". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  25. 1 2 Testa, Gabriela Sánchez, Gonzalo (17 May 2021). "8.000 personas, al menos un cuarto de ellas menores, entran a nado en Ceuta en plena crisis con Marruecos". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. 1 2 "Spain returns people who swam from Morocco, adds troops to border". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  27. ↑ "España moviliza al Ejército tras la entrada de más de 5.000 marroquíes en 24 horas". Europa Press. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  28. 1 2 "Interior eleva a 8.000 el balance de migrantes que han entrado en Ceuta, de los que la mitad han sido devueltos a Marruecos". 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  29. ↑ Sánchez, Gabriela (19 May 2021). "Entradas promovidas por Marruecos y devoluciones sin control: "La policía marroquí nos decía que pasáramos a Ceuta y aquí nos quieren devolver"". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  30. ↑ Macías, C. S. (20 May 2021). "Los niños a los que engañó Marruecos con que verían a Cristiano Ronaldo en Ceuta". La Razón (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  31. ↑ "Los niños a los que Marruecos engañó diciendo que Ronaldo jugaba en Ceuta". El Faro de Ceuta (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  32. ↑ "Muchos migrantes menores entraron en Ceuta engañados con que iban a ver a Messi y Ronaldo". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  33. ↑ "Cristiano jugará en Ceuta: el cebo para que niños marroquíes cruzaran la frontera". ElNacional.cat (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  34. ↑ "El mensaje trampa para llevar a los niños a la frontera: "Cristiano Ronaldo juega en Ceuta"". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  35. ↑ "Algunos de los menores pasaron a Ceuta engañados para ver a Messi y Ronaldo". www.efe.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  36. ↑ "Marruecos cierra los accesos fronterizos en Ceuta e interrumpe el éxodo migratorio". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  37. ↑ "La Policía española devuelve a decenas de personas en la valla y usa gases". www.efe.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  38. ↑ Sánchez, Gabriela (19 May 2021). "Caen las llegadas de migrantes a Ceuta tras el aumento del control marroquí y las devoluciones en caliente". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  39. ↑ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Noche de disturbios cerca de la frontera marroquí con Ceuta | DW | 19.05.2021". DW.COM (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  40. ↑ "España despliega al Ejército en Melilla". www.publico.es. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  41. ↑ "Familias marroquíes buscan a sus menores atrapados en Ceuta". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  42. ↑ "Hundreds of child migrants crammed into warehouses in Ceuta". the Guardian. 23 May 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  43. ↑ 20minutos (10 May 2021). "El líder de uno de los principales partidos marroquíes avisa a Casado de que la decisión de "acoger" al jefe del Polisario "empaña" las relaciones con España". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  44. ↑ "El Frente Polisario recuerda la responsabilidad de España en el Sahara Occidental". www.efe.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  45. ↑ Cué, Carlos E. (18 May 2021). "Sánchez viaja a Ceuta y pretende garantizar la integridad territorial". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  46. ↑ "Belarra advierte de que las devoluciones de migrantes deben llevarse a cabo con vigilancia judicial". www.publico.es. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  47. ↑ "Unidas Podemos pide conocer las "cautelas" que sigue el Ejército para evitar vulnerar derechos en la frontera de Ceuta". Europa Press. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  48. ↑ Bruni, Paola (18 May 2021). "El presidente de Ceuta: "El ambiente en la ciudad es de estado de excepción"". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  49. ↑ Aduriz, Iñigo (18 May 2021). "El PP culpa al Gobierno de la crisis en Ceuta y exige "la devolución inmediata" a Marruecos de todos los migrantes". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  50. ↑ "Las reacciones de Santiago Abascal y Vox a la llegada de migrantes a Ceuta" (in Spanish). 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  51. ↑ "Abascal habla de 10.000 migrantes llegados a Ceuta y pide una "respuesta de fuerza" para evitar "lo mismo" en Melilla". Europa Press. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  52. ↑ Abril, Bernardo de Miguel, Guillermo (18 May 2021). "Bruselas advierte a Marruecos: "Las fronteras españolas son fronteras europeas"". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  53. ↑ "Salvini aplaudeix la dura actuació del "govern d'esquerra" espanyol contra els immigrants a Ceuta". VilaWeb (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  54. ↑ "Amnistía Internacional critica a Marruecos y España por "utilizar" a los migrantes como "peones" en un "juego político"". Europa Press. 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  55. ↑ "La voluntaria de Cruz Roja que consoló a un migrante en Ceuta cierra sus redes ante la oleada de insultos racistas y xenófobos" (in Spanish). 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  56. ↑ "El linchamiento de la ultraderecha a Luna, la mostoleña de la Cruz Roja que se ha hecho viral". El Español (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  57. ↑ "El repugnante comentario de Hermann Tertsch sobre el abrazo de una trabajadora de Cruz Roja a un migrante desfallecido". El Plural (in Spanish). 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  58. ↑ "Spanish aid volunteer abused online for hugging Senegalese migrant". the Guardian. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
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