The United Nations agency, based in this city, also called for assistance to 800 minors in Ceuta.

We must prioritize people’s safety and give them access to protection and other forms of assistance regardless of the reasons that forced them to go there, IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino said in a statement.

Later, he stressed that Spain and Morocco have been collaborating on migration issues for a long time and urged them to keep that cooperation.

Some days ago, Spanish Foreign Minister Arantxa Gonzalez insisted on the option of discrete diplomacy to resolve the conflict with Morocco.

After defending her government’s decision to provide medical assistance to the leader of the Polisario Front (Saharan independence movement), Brahim Ghali, the minister expressed willingness to reestablish a climate of understanding based on respect with Rabat.

Meanwhile, Moroccan Ambassador to Spain Karima Benyaich said that ‘there are actions that have consequences in relations between countries. They have to be assumed,’ in reference to Madrid’s decision to treat Brahim Ghali.

After days of tension, both countries reached an agreement to ensure the safe return of migrants to Morocco.

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