Spain's PM Sanchez says no evidence Morocco orchestrated Ceuta border surge

Spain has found no evidence to conclude that July's deadly border rush from Morocco into its enclave of Ceuta was orchestrated or carried out by Moroccan authorities, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told lawmakers on Thursday.

Sanchez's comments in the lower house of parliament followed a police report that emerged this week saying that the mass entry into Ceuta was not a spontaneous migration event but a planned and phased operation designed to overwhelm border controls.

"I can assure you that no institution – not the diplomatic service, nor the European Commission, nor any international body – has provided the Spanish government with any solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the incident. None whatsoever," Sanchez said.

However, he said Morocco's Gendarmerie police did allow crossings to occur during a key 10-hour period on July 30, when migrant arrivals peaked. Spanish authorities had yet to determine whether this was due to inaction or inability to contain the influx, Sanchez added.

The police report, seen by Reuters, alleged that Moroccan security forces were initially deployed in smaller numbers than usual near the Tarajal breakwater separating the enclave from the North African country and did not make a serious attempt to disperse the crowds.

Some uniformed Moroccan officers gave directions towards the crossing point, while other unidentified people appeared to guide or monitor the flow of people, the report said, but it did not identify individual officers or provide independently verified evidence of orders from Moroccan authorities.

Moroccan officials have denied enabling the crossing.