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Ceuta: Documents show Spanish intelligence warned of crisis
DW.com • • world
Key Points:
- Spain's National Intelligence Center warned of possible "mass entries" by migrants into Ceuta a day before over 70,000 migrants stormed the border fences, based on declassified documents revealing alerts about coordinated migrant groups on social media.
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez downplayed the warning's severity, stating the intelligence did not foresee the scale of the crisis and that only local authorities, not the military or Ministry of Defense, were alerted.
- The European Union announced €115 million in emergency aid to Spain to strengthen border surveillance, protection infrastructure, and support migrant screening and returns following the Ceuta crisis.
- On July 30-31, more than 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco, resulting in numerous deaths and creating a humanitarian challenge with thousands, including many unaccompanied minors, remaining in difficult conditions.
- The incident intensified tensions within the EU, especially between Spain and Italy, and prompted a Spanish criminal investigation into whether Moroccan authorities facilitated the mass border crossing.
