Recent Claims Regarding Morocco's Assistance in Firefighting
In recent discussions, conflicting information has emerged suggesting that Morocco dispatched four water bombers to aid in extinguishing the active wildfires sweeping across Spain. However, other reports have claimed that Morocco has declined to provide assistance. This inconsistency raises questions about the veracity of the claims circulating on social media platforms.
What We Know About Morocco's Involvement
It is important to clarify that Morocco is not listed among the nations that have contributed firefighting resources to Spain. Furthermore, it is not a member of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, through which Spain's Ministry of the Interior has sought the mobilization of international support. During the ongoing efforts to control and extinguish wildfires across Spain, various online posts have erroneously circulated, suggesting that Morocco is participating in the firefighting efforts. However, these claims have been proven false. There is no evidence that Morocco has sent any personnel or resources to combat the wildfires in Spain. In fact, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior has released a statement detailing the international aid received from Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Turkey, which includes several water bombing aircraft. The videos circulating on social media that allegedly depict Moroccan water bombers are authentic but actually show firefighting operations in France conducted in July.
Additionally, some social media users have alleged that Morocco "has refused to help" extinguish the fires. This assertion is unsupported by any evidence. The Ministry of the Interior's announcement indicates that the aid from other countries has been coordinated through the activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, an alliance to which Morocco does not belong. Moreover, no official information regarding a request for collaboration sent to Morocco has been found.
The Ministry of the Interior has explicitly excluded Morocco from its list of collaborating countries. On its official social media accounts and website, the Ministry has stated that due to the extent and intensity of the wildfires in the Community of Madrid and the province of Ávila, as well as in the Vall d’Uixó, it has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism. This mechanism serves as a coordination tool among the European Union and ten additional European countries to assist in disaster response efforts globally.
Through this system, Greece has contributed 33 personnel, two Canadair aircraft (commonly known as water bombers), and one support aircraft. Italy has sent 14 personnel and two Canadair aircraft, while Portugal has provided 129 personnel and 41 ground vehicles. Turkey, which is not an EU member but participates in the Civil Protection Mechanism, has also made two water bombers available to Spain, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior.
In contrast, Morocco neither belongs to the Civil Protection Mechanism nor appears on the list of countries that have provided any material assistance for firefighting as of the publication date of this verification. This misinformation has also been debunked by various fact-checking organizations including Newtral, Maldita, and Efe Verifica, all of which are members of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).
The videos that suggest Morocco is collaborating with Spain depict water bombers collecting water from rivers and lakes as supposed evidence of assistance. However, these images were captured in France. One viral video shared by users on social media included hashtags like #Spain and #Madrid, accompanied by claims that the media is concealing Morocco's contribution of water bombers to Spain. Upon closer inspection, the video actually features two aircraft from the French Civil Security service, as indicated on the side of the planes, and was shared by journalist Jacques Neveux from the publication Midi Libre on Facebook.
Through a comparative analysis with Google Maps Street View images, it can be seen that the water bombers were filling their tanks in the Rhône River, near the Vallabrègues dam. While the exact date of the video's posting is unclear, comments on the video date back three weeks, and as of July 7th, the Gard department's website reported multiple wildfires in the region. Another video of Canadairs collecting water that has been falsely attributed to Moroccan assistance was actually filmed at Lake Sainte-Croix, located between Marseille and Nice. Fact-checkers were unable to identify the original publication, but we found a video of the same event recorded from the shore of the lake with comments dated July 22nd. On that date, Euronews reported a wildfire incident in the Var department, where the lake is situated.
As reported by lavanguardia.com.
