Spain sends reinforcements after thousands of migrants enter Ceuta
TVE reported that 2,000 to 3,000 migrants entered Ceuta on Thursday, while nine bodies were recovered and Moroccan forces prevented further crossings.
- Spain sent military and police reinforcements to its North African enclave of Ceuta.
- The deployment was a response to an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 migrants entering the territory from Morocco on Thursday.
- Despite the increased security, thousands of people continued to gather on the Moroccan side, attempting to cross into Spanish territory.
- Authorities reported recovering nine bodies amid the crossing attempts.
Spain sent military and police reinforcements to Ceuta after Spanish state broadcaster TVE estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 people had entered the enclave from Morocco on Thursday.
Authorities in Ceuta reported that nine bodies had been recovered, while residents of Fnideq indicated that most successful crossings occurred before midday.
Thousands continued to gather in Fnideq through the night, but increased security prevented most of the later attempts to reach Spanish territory.
Groups repeatedly advanced towards the border before being forced back, later assembling again on roads, hillsides and open ground across the town.
Roads leading into Fnideq became congested as further arrivals, including minors, continued late into the night.
Some walked along the highway, while others followed mountain paths in an effort to bypass security checkpoints.
With the main crossing effectively sealed, people searched for other routes along the coastline.
Some looked for a way around the border fence, while others prepared to swim.
Women and children from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa were among those hoping to enter Ceuta, which has a population of about 85,000.
Brahim, 32, who gave only one name, had travelled from Tangier expecting to pass through the border gate.
“I was late,” he said after finding the route closed.
Moroccan authorities stationed water cannon trucks near the gates and strengthened security around the crossing, repeatedly turning people away.
Reuters witnesses also saw the burnt remains of a bus and seven vehicles following clashes during efforts to hold back the crowds.
One migrant, who declined to identify himself, recounted being caught in a stampede during an attempted crossing.
“I feared for my life,” he said, describing people pushing and stepping on one another along a narrow coastal route.
Early on Friday, Fatima Mahli, 23, sat with her two daughters on a patch of grass beside the road leading to the border.
The resident of Tetouan in northern Morocco explained that her husband had left before dawn to try to reach Ceuta by swimming.
“I thought I could cross by foot through the border. But we are stuck here, unable to go back home,” she said.
“I was hoping to cross as a family, but my husband woke up early and went first, swimming.”
Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two autonomous cities in northern Morocco, constitute the European Union’s only land border with Africa.
Both periodically see large groups attempt to cross in the hope of reaching Europe.
Spain’s Socialist government has taken a comparatively pro-migrant position within Europe.
It recently introduced a programme to provide legal status to about 500,000 undocumented migrants, attracting applications from roughly twice that number.
