Symbolic imageStudy traces Ceuta migrant surge to viral videos as Morocco builds barrier
A study reported on Tuesday traces the mass entry into Ceuta to viral videos of the first crossings. Morocco is building a four-metre barrier near Fnideq.
Moroccan researcher Marouane L. Alaui says false claims about a Spanish Supreme Court ruling of 8 July that banned on-the-spot deportations of sea arrivals spread word that the border was open. Footage of two young women who swam across drew 32,198,740 views. Low tide at midday on 30 July coincided with an unusual stand-down by Moroccan security forces, leaving the El Tarajal breakwater open for hours. He finds no evidence that a government, party or influencer ordered the mobilisation.
Barrier near Fnideq
Morocco has deployed thousands of security officers around Fnideq and begun the barrier on the outskirts to block access to the Bab Sebta crossing, per the Maghreb Times, as anonymous online calls circulate for a new mass attempt on 15 August.
Madrid promises returns
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, meeting Ceuta's mayor-president Juan Jesús Vivas on Tuesday, said all who entered on 30 and 31 July will be returned, mainly to Morocco. Vivas said about 10,000, many of them minors, remain in the enclave and called Madrid's response inadequate.
Other opinions
The New York Times reports unproven speculation that Morocco, perhaps spurred by Israel and the United States, organised the crisis. It puts the death toll at about 90, The National at an estimated 75 drowned.