Spain sends 4,000 migrants back to Morocco

Spain sends 4,000 migrants back to Morocco after stampede of 8,000 overran North African enclave and PM flies in to ‘restore order’

  • Spanish authorities have sent back half of the nearly 8,000 migrants who crossed over from Morocco on Monday and Tuesday
  • The Spanish government said it had set up a streamlined system of return that can ‘operate 24 hours a day’
  • Dramatic images and videos showed huge crowds of people arriving on the beaches of the Spanish coastal enclave of Ceuta 
  • Spain sent 200 police officers to manage the unprecedented influx and said it will send 50 more, while another 150 are on standby 
  • Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez flew into Ceuta on Tuesday, vowing to ‘restore order’ in the Spanish enclave
  • The mass movement of people came amid a political dispute with Spain over Western Sahara which analysts say prompted Morocco to relax its border control

Spanish authorities have sent back half of the nearly 8,000 migrants who stormed across the border from Morocco on Monday and Tuesday.  

Thousands of people overran the beaches at Ceuta, a Spanish enclave separated from Morocco by a 10-meter fence, with security forces using tear gas and armoured vehicles to contain the crowd.

The Spanish government said it has set up a system to ‘streamline’ the return of the migrants to Morocco that could ‘operate 24 hours a day’. 

Madrid will also send an additional 50 police officers to reinforce the 200 already deployed on Tuesday, while another 150 were on standby, the interior ministry said.  

Spanish authorities have sent back half of the nearly 8,000 migrants who stormed across the border from Morocco on Monday and Tuesday. Pictured: Security forces expel migrants from Ceuta

Thousands of people overran the beaches at Ceuta, a Spanish enclave separated from Morocco by a 10-meter fence, with security forces using tear gas and armoured vehicles to contain the crowd. Pictured: Soldiers stand guard on Tuesday

The Spanish government said it has set up a system to ‘streamline’ the return of the migrants to Morocco that could ‘operate 24 hours a day’. Pictured: A migrant is comforted by a member of the Spanish Red Cross

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez flew to Ceuta on Tuesday, vowing to ‘restore order’ in the North African enclave after the unprecedented influx. 

‘We will restore order in the city and along our borders as quickly as possible,’ Sanchez said ahead of a scheduled visit to Melilla – Spain’s other coastal enclave, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) to the east.  

The mass movement followed a relaxing of Moroccan border controls amid a political spat over Spain’s decision to grant entry for medical treatment to the chief of a militant group that fights Morocco for the independence of Western Sahara, who is seriously ill with coronavirus.

Morocco annexed the sprawling region on the west coast of Africa in 1975.

Madrid will send an additional 50 police officers to reinforce the 200 already deployed on Tuesday, while another 150 were on standby, the interior ministry said. Pictured: A migrant runs after crossing into Ceuta early on Wednesday morning

Pictured: People attempt to climb the fence in the northern Moroccan town of Fnideq in an attempt to cross into Spain

On Tuesday, Spain’s top diplomat summoned Morocco’s ambassador to express her ‘displeasure’ after Moroccan security forces appeared to turn a blind eye to the thousands of people crossing into Ceuta.

‘I reminded [the ambassador] that border control has been and must continue to be the joint responsibility of Spain and Morocco,’ Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told journalists.

Soon after, Morocco’s foreign ministry said it had recalled its ambassador from Spain.  

The migrants reached Ceuta by swimming, or by walking at low tide from Moroccan beaches a few kilometres to the south, some using inflatable swimming rings and rubber dinghies. Pictured: Red Cross workers tend to a migrant who is suffering from hypothermia after making the crossing early on Wednesday

Barely 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles), Ceuta is located in North Africa. It is an autonomous city of Spain and is home to some 85,000 people

On Tuesday, Spain’s top diplomat summoned Morocco’s ambassador to express her ‘displeasure’ after Moroccan security forces appeared to turn a blind eye to the thousands of people crossing into Ceuta. Pictured: A Red Cross worker comforts a migrant

The migrants reached Ceuta by swimming, or by walking at low tide from Moroccan beaches a few kilometres to the south, some using inflatable swimming rings and rubber dinghies.

One man drowned en route, Spanish officials said.

Ouarda, a 26-year-old single mother from the nearby town of Tetouan, said she had come when she saw on Facebook it was possible to cross.

‘I took a taxi here with my friend as I can’t feed my family anymore. I’m not scared – I’ll either die or I’ll cross,’ she told AFP news agency.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez flew to Ceuta on Tuesday, vowing to ‘restore order’ in the North African enclave after the unprecedented influx.

Videos on social media showed dozens of people setting off from rocky outcrops, some wearing just beachwear

Videos on social media showed dozens of people setting off from rocky outcrops, some wearing just beachwear. 

Most of the migrants had crossed into Ceuta largely unimpeded by Moroccan security forces on Monday.

By Tuesday morning however, Rabat had deployed reinforcements at the Fnideq border crossing who fired tear gas to disperse those trying to slip across, an AFP correspondent reported.

‘The situation is much calmer. The Moroccan authorities are blocking their nationals from coming along the beach,’ a source at the Spanish government delegation in Ceuta told AFP.

While he said the arrivals had stopped by midday, live footage from Spain’s RTVE public television appeared to show scores of migrants wading through the water.

Photos from early on Wednesday morning showed individuals continuing to arrive. 

Most of the migrants had crossed into Ceuta largely unimpeded by Moroccan security forces on Monday. By Tuesday morning however, Rabat had deployed reinforcements at the Fnideq border crossing. Pictured: Spanish security forces detain a migrant on Tuesday in Ceuta

Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo described the influx as ‘an attack on our borders,’. Pictured: The Spanish Army and Guardia Civil take positions next to the border to prevent people crossing

Early on Tuesday, another 300 migrants tried to cross into Melilla by scaling a high barrier, with 86 making it through. 

Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo described the influx as ‘an attack on our borders,’.

Sanchez, who cancelled a trip to attend an Africa financing summit in Paris on Tuesday, said: ‘This sudden arrival of illegal migrants poses a serious crisis for Spain and for Europe.’

Ceuta and Melilla have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa, making them popular entry points for people fleeing poverty and war on the continent. Pictured: Minors sleep inside a warehouse turned into a makeshift centre for minors in Ceuta on Tuesday

EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson urged Morocco to act to halt the ‘worrying’ increase in arrivals. Pictured: A Red Cross worker assists a migrant

Ceuta and Melilla have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa, making them popular entry points for people fleeing poverty and war on the continent.

EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson urged Morocco to act to halt the ‘worrying’ increase in arrivals. 

European Council chief Charles Michel voiced solidarity with Madrid, tweeting ‘Spain’s borders are the European Union’s borders’. 

European Council chief Charles Michel voiced solidarity with Madrid, tweeting ‘Spain’s borders are the European Union’s borders’

Pictured: Spanish citizens protest against the influx of migrants from Morocco into Ceuta on Tuesday 

On Tuesday, Morocco’s foreign ministry said it had recalled its ambassador from Spain amid a diplomatic spat. Pictured: Security forces stand guard while hundreds of people gather at the coast of the Moroccan border town of Fnideq on Tuesday

Analysts said it was clear Morocco had turned a blind eye to the human tide surging into Ceuta to put diplomatic pressure on Spain to recognise its sovereignty over Western Sahara.  

Rabat was infuriated when news leaked that Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali had flown to northern Spain in mid-April for hospital treatment.

The Polisario Front has long fought for the independence of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that is mainly under Moroccan control.

Analysts said it was clear Morocco had turned a blind eye to the human tide surging into Ceuta to put diplomatic pressure on Spain to recognise its sovereignty over Western Sahara. Pictured: People crossing into Ceuta on Tuesday

In allowing the migrant surge into Ceuta, Morocco had sent a ‘strong message’, said Isaias Barrenada, an international relations professor at the Complutense University of Madrid. Pictured: Ceuta on Tuesday

The Moroccan authorities have long wanted Spain to acknowledge their authority over Western Sahara, as Washington did in December under former president Donald Trump.

In allowing the migrant surge into Ceuta, Morocco had sent a ‘strong message’, said Isaias Barrenada, an international relations professor at the Complutense University of Madrid.

‘The message is ‘without Morocco’s cooperation in the control of migrants Spain has a problem, so Spain should listen to Morocco’s demands’,’ he told AFP.

But Spain’s foreign minister insisted Rabat had ‘assured’ Madrid there was no connection between the migrant surge and Ghali’s presence in Spain. 

Sanchez (centre), who cancelled a trip to attend an Africa financing summit in Paris on Tuesday, said: ‘This sudden arrival of illegal migrants poses a serious crisis for Spain and for Europe.’ Pictured: Sanchez in Ceuta on Tuesday

The crisis erupted after it emerged that Brahim Ghali (pictured), an independence fighter involved in a decades-long war with Morocco, is being treated in Spain for Covid – causing fury on the Moroccan side [File photo]

Spain’s foreign minister insisted Rabat had ‘assured’ Madrid there was no connection between the migrant surge and Ghali’s presence in Spain. Pictured: People crossing into Ceuta on Tuesday are met by security forces

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