Spain will deploy its military to revive order at its border with\u00a0Morocco\u00a0in Ceuta after 1000’s of\u00a0migrants streamed into the tiny Spanish\u00a0territory.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes after local authorities in Ceuta had asked the central government in Madrid for reinforcements to administer a border crisis that had been increase before boiling over on Thursday with large crowds of individuals breeching the border fence.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s government said Thursday evening it might send the Armed Forces to assist the Civil Guard \u201cto take care of security in the town of Ceuta.\u201d It also announced that Spain\u2019s Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez would join Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and visit Ceuta Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation is absolute chaos,\u201d Rachid Sbihi, head of the association that represents Spain\u2019s Civil Guard officers in Ceuta, who police the border told The Associated Press. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to offer precise numbers, but there are millions of migrants crossing,\u201d he said, adding that the border had \u201ctotally collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Achraf Maimouni, a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights in northern Morocco, described the situation as \u2018\u2019exceptional.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tarajal border was opened under unusual circumstances this morning and other people crossed,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Video footage showed crowds of individuals, mainly Moroccans, walking across the breakwaters at Tarajal beach onto local roads. While the bulk seemed to be young men, there have been also families with women and young children. Spanish media reported several<\/p>\n
\u201cViva Espa\u00f1a!\u201d some shouted to a contract photographer working for the AP. It was not immediately clear what prompted so many migrants to cross to Ceuta.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The escalation on the frontier between Spain and Morocco comes after a surge in migrants attempting to achieve the small exclave, mainly by swimming, on Wednesday. At the least three people died yesterday attempting to achieve Ceuta by sea, Sbihi and activists in each Morocco and Ceuta reported.<\/p>\n Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Moroccan authorities haven’t publicly commented on the crossings, and the inside ministry didn’t reply to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Spain\u2019s Interior Ministry said the Moroccan government was \u201cclosely cooperating\u201d with Spain to handle the situation and that Moroccan police are stopping \u201cmany people\u201d who try to cross the border. Each countries agreed to work together \u201cfor the return, as soon as possible, of all of the individuals who entered Ceuta illegally.\u201d<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s interior ministry earlier said it might guarantee the security of residents and the integrity of the nation\u2019s border but that the federal government couldn’t declare a national emergency \u2013 as local authorities had asked \u2013 over migration concerns.<\/p>\n Ceuta authorities had previously linked the spike to a Spanish Supreme Court decision earlier this month that migrants who arrive by sea can’t be immediately pushed back across the border without due process, unlike those that cross into Spain by land \u2014 by climbing over the border fence, for instance.<\/p>\n But some activists in Morocco expressed doubt that the ruling was behind the surge, arguing most migrants would have been unaware of such legal decisions.<\/p>\n Spain is a most important point of arrival into Europe for migrants in search of higher economic opportunities or an escape from violence of their home countries.<\/p>\n To achieve Ceuta, situated on the northern African coast, migrants often swim from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, covering about 3.1 miles (five kilometers) to achieve Spanish territory. Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the gap is shorter.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tArrivals had been increasing, but reasons still unclear\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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