Morocco: About 2,700 migrants arrived in Ceuta in one day, an unprecedented number

Sad record. At least 2,700 migrants, including 1,000 minors, managed to arrive Spanish Ceuta From Morocco, they arrived by swimming or on foot when the tide permitted, according to Spanish authorities.

A spokesman for the province of Ceuta said that the first arrivals were in the morning, when these migrants left at night the beaches located a few kilometers south of Ceuta, and confirmed that there was an unpublished number. The source added that upon their arrival in the Spanish territories in northern Morocco, they were intercepted, adding that the migrants “continued to arrive” in the early evening, and indicated that the flow would not stop immediately.

The first group of a hundred people, consisting mainly of young people as well as children and women, was identified earlier in the day. Some used inflatable floats, others used inflatable boats. A provincial spokesman said that some were still walking as the sea “withdrew”. The same source added that none of these migrants had been hospitalized and “they are fine.” The spokesman said that these people were to be accommodated in pens on the shore of tractors, but that the authorities had met to assess the situation in light of their numbers.

Increasing numbers of immigrants

to Migrants regularly try to reach Ceuta By swimming, but often in smaller groups, or by climbing the high border fences that separate the enclave from Morocco. End of April, About a hundred immigrants had already joined by swimmingA Spanish weekend enclave, in groups of 20 to 30. Then, most of them were expelled to Morocco. Between the start of the year and until May 15, 475 migrants arrived by land or by sea to Ceuta, more than double compared to the same period last year, according to Interior Ministry figures.

The arrival of migrants from Morocco to Ceuta comes in the context of diplomatic tensions between Madrid and Rabat. Morocco summoned the Spanish ambassador in Rabat at the end of April to express his “indignation” over Spain’s reception of the leader of the Sahrawi separatists in Spain for treatment there. The Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali.

The Conflict in Western SaharaIt is a former Spanish colony, which was classified by the United Nations as a “non-self-governing region” in the absence of a final settlement, and Morocco opposes the Polisario Front backed by Algeria for more than 45 years. The Polisario Front is calling for a referendum for self-determination, while Rabat, which considers the Sahara a “national issue,” proposes autonomy under its sovereignty.