Spain deploys army in Ceuta to patrol border with Morocco after thousands break in

Amid a deepening diplomatic spat, Spain deployed its military to the Moroccan border on Tuesday, May 18, and expelled nearly half of the thousands of migrants who jumped fences and entered the European soil over two days after Rabat loosened border controls. As per AP, soldiers separated the adults from the young and carried children in their arms. The Red Cross workers were helping the exhausted migrants. The influx of migrants has led to a diplomatic spat between Rabat and Madrid over the disputed Western Sahara region, which has contributed to a humanitarian crisis for Ceuta. 

All that you need to know 

The AP reporters saw Spanish military personnel and police officers ushering both adults and children through a gate in the border fence. As per AP, some even tried to resist and were pushed by soldiers who used batons to hasten them. However, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska denied that unaccompanied migrants under 18, who are allowed to remain legally under the guardianship of Spanish authorities, were being deported.

(Ceuta, a Spanish city of 85,000 in northern Africa, faces a humanitarian crisis after thousands of Moroccans took advantage of relaxed border control in their country to swim or paddle in inflatable boats into European soil. Image Credits: AP)

(People from Morocco swim and walk into the Spanish territory at the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Monday, May 17, 2021. Image Credits: AP)

As per the Spanish government, nearly 8,000 sea-soaked people had crossed the border since early Monday. This included some 2,000 thought to be teenagers. The arrivals did not stop even when anti-riot police on the Moroccan side dispersed crowds of people who were hoping to cross over. As per Spain’s Interior Ministry, at least least 4,000 were returned to Morocco. 

Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of Ceuta said, “It’s such a strong invasion that we are not able to calculate the number of people that have entered”. He added, “The army is at the border in a deterrent role, but there are great quantities of people on the Moroccan side waiting to enter”. 

(Image Credits: AP)