Morocco blames Spain for spat, says weather caused migrant crisis

FILE PHOTO: Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita attends a news conference after a roundtable on Western Sahara at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

RABAT (Reuters) - Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on Thursday blamed Spain for the diplomatic spat between the two countries and said mass migrant crossings from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this week were due to the weather and tired border guards.

Morocco had appeared to loosen its border controls with Ceuta on Monday as thousands of migrants poured into the enclave, a move widely interpreted as retaliation for Spain's hosting of a Western Sahara independence leader.