Protests in Spain over government's handling of Ceuta migrant crisis

Large crowds gathered in the capital Madrid Thousands of people have protested in cities across Spain over the government's handling of the influx of migrants to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on the north African coast. Spanish opposition parties accuse Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of abandoning the residents of Ceuta, while the government says right-wing parties are exploiting the crisis. On Wednesday a police report said Moroccan security forces showed "total permissiveness" during the unprecedented influx, days after Sánchez insisted Morocco was not responsible. He has blamed trafficking gangs and online misinformation for encouraging people to cross the border. Morocco has denied orchestrating or being involved in the mass crossing. "We cannot be second-class citizens, and our border must not be sidelined." Pressure on Sánchez's government has intensified after Spanish media said the report submitted by the National Police's National Immigration and Borders Centre (CENIF) to the National Court pointed to the involvement of Moroccan gendarmes in the migrant crossings. The police report claimed that the Moroccan police deployment around the border "was clearly smaller than usual" and cited migrants who spoke of a "passive attitude" as the crossings happened. Sexual assaults happening almost every day in Ceuta, prosecutors say Thousands of migrants are still in Ceuta weeks after more than 70,000 people crossed the border Morocco has a long-standing claim over Ceuta and its fellow autonomous city of Melilla, which have long been a flashpoint in diplomatic relations between the two countries. A large number of social media posts appeared in August portraying the border fence between Morocco and Ceuta as safe and easy, even though at least 100 people died while trying to swim around the border fence, according to figures from the mayor. Spanish fact-checking website Maldita said before 30 July, when the influx began, messages circulated on Moroccan social media encouraging people to attempt the crossing, after a June ruling by Spain's Supreme Court.