Moroccan migrants are using social media to coordinate a new push across Spain’s borders on social media, it was reported.
At the end of last month, thousands of migrants from Morocco swarmed the tiny Spanish enclave of Ceuta, with locals demanding that the Spanish army be deployed to restore border control – and seeking a national emergency be declared.
The mass incursion triggered panicked responses from other EU states, with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni calling for Spain to be removed from the Schengen common travel area: a sentiment that was later echoed by other European leaders.
Now the Telegraph reports that a new wave was being planned with “at least” four WhatsApp groups, 10 Facebook groups and more than 50 Instagram accounts being used to discuss plans to cross from Morocco to the Spanish exclave on the 15th of August.
One message reads, “Everything will be clear that day, and we will get there.”
The information comes from fact-checking non-profit Maldita.es.
Last week, at least 70,000 overwhelmingly young men swam and charged across the border.
In the midst of this, approximately 77 people lost their lives through drowning during attempts to swim around a sea barrier.
During a press conference held on Tuesday, Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said, “We will put all the resources necessary for any situation.”
Speaking on Spanish television, Olaya Salardón, of the United Association of the Civil Guard, said that officers would “always follow the established protocols despite the great pressure we are under. We are 100 officers, but we have always called for more resources.”
While Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez has been criticised internationally for his handling of the migrant crisis, which came after he declared an amnesty for 500,000 illegal migrants in Spain, although it is estimated that the actual number of applicants is so far well over one million.
Those wishing to push across the border are being advised to gather at Castillejos near the Ceuta border with messages showing detailed maps and advice on travel routes and attire.
El País newspaper reported five Facebook groups with an audience of approximately 400,000, with the majority of messages written in Arabic, with a small number written in French.
As Peter Caddle reported on this platform, Eurocrats are blaming the recent illegal migrant surge in Ceuta on “disinformation” and Russian propaganda.
Magnus Brunner, the bloc’s internal affairs commissioner, said in a press conference on Tuesday that allegedly false claims about lax European border policies helped spark the surge in arrivals.
Tens of thousands of migrants attempted to illegally cross into Spain during the crisis last week, resulting in the deaths of over 70 people.
“[T]here was of course some disinformation by the smugglers and the human traffickers, that’s what we know for sure,” he told reporters.
Other officials reportedly believe Russia could be behind such “disinformation”, with the European External Action Service (EEAS) reportedly launching an investigation into the possibility this week.
Brussels has meanwhile tried to downplay the involvement of Morocco in the crisis despite mounting evidence that the government of the country may be involved.
“There doesn’t necessarily have to be anyone to blame,” Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said regarding the matter.
Brunner meanwhile declined to comment on the possibility on Tuesday, claiming that there was an “ongoing investigation of the matter”.
Ukrainian officials have backed the Russian explanation for the deadly migration surge, insisting that Moscow launched a migrant “propaganda campaign” aimed at destabilising Europe.
“We have detected an intensive Russian propaganda campaign across Europe using pictures from Ceuta to sow destabilisation,” the country’s acting minister for foreign affairs, Andrii Sybiha, wrote online.
“For years, Moscow has used migration and other sensitive topics to stoke fear and destabilise European countries.”
“All Russian propaganda resources should be completely banned in every European country that takes its national security seriously,” he added.
The Irish government has meanwhile pushed against attempts to blame Spain for the crisis, despite speculation that its plan to regularise over 1 million illegal migrants helped fuel the surge.
“The EU is united with Spain in this challenge and commends the swift action taken,” Minister Jim O’Callaghan, who has been at the forefront of coordinating the EU response to the crisis due to Ireland’s European Council presidency, insisted.
He added that EU nations should express “solidarity” with Madrid over the migrant surge.