Spain, Morocco square off after 8,000 migrants arrive by sea
Neither the government in Rabat nor local officials have commented on the mass influx.
By RENATA BRITO and ARITZ PARRAAssociated Press
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A man is held by soldiers of the Spanish Army at the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on Tuesday. Around 6,000 people had crossed by Tuesday morning since the first arrivals began in the early hours of Monday, including 1,500 who are presumed to be teens. Javier Fergo/Associated Press
CEUTA, Spain Spain deployed its military to the Moroccan border Tuesday and expelled nearly half of the thousands of migrants who jumped fences or swam onto European soil over two days after Rabat loosened border controls amid a deepening diplomatic spat.
CEUTA: Spain deployed its military to the Moroccan border on Tuesday and expelled nearly half of the thousands of migrants who jumped fences or swam onto European soil over two days after Rabat loosened border controls amid a deepening diplomatic spat.
Overwhelmed soldiers separated the adults from the young and carried children in their arms while Red Cross workers helped an endless trickle of migrants who were emerging from the water shivering and exhausted. One unconscious woman laid on the sand before she was carried away on a stretcher.
The sudden influx of migrants has fueled the diplomatic spat between Rabat and Madrid over the disputed Western Sahara region and created a humanitarian crisis for Ceuta, the Spanish city of 85,000 in North Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, separated from Morocco by a double-wide, 10-metre (32-feet) fence.
Most of the migrants are from Morocco and 4,000 have been returned so far
A man is held by soldiers of the Spanish Army at the border of Morocco and Spain at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. A record 6,000 migrants entered Ceuta illegally on Monday, 1,500 of whom were minors. AP Photo
A Spanish soldier helps a migrant as troops are deployed along the coast in Ceuta. EPA
Migrants manage to grab onto a boat of the Moroccan authorities near the coast of Fnideq in an attempt to cross over to Ceuta. EPA
A Spanish Civil Guard holds onto a migrant who swam onto the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. AFP
In just two days, 8,000 migrants, including an estimated 2,000 minors, have crossed the border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Northern Africa. That’s nearly four times the number that made the same trip last year. Why now, and what are the implications?
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