More than 70 people died after thousands of migrants attempted to cross from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, a crisis that has strained diplomatic relations and drawn a disinformation campaign linked to Russia.
The crossings were linked to misleading claims about a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling, according to one report. Social media accounts with links to the Russian military spread far-right messages about immigration, reaching more than 500,000 people in the early days of the crisis, an analysis by counter-disinformation group 411 found. The accounts were connected to the Pravda network, the group said.
Spain has denied allegations that it ignored warnings from its intelligence service, the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI), about a mass arrival of tens of thousands of migrants. The government in Madrid said no intelligence reports had been received warning of a migration crisis on this scale.
Spain also moved to mend relations with fellow European Union nations after the influx drew criticism from both sides of the Atlantic. Spain confirmed that of the 72,000 people who entered the enclave from Morocco last week, all but 2,000 have returned.
Efforts to accommodate and repatriate the remaining migrants, as well as the search for further fatalities, are continuing.