Spain has deployed troops after record numbers of migrants entered its north African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

“At least 8,000 migrants have reached Spain's Ceuta enclave from neighbouring Morocco, a record number over a single day,” Spanish officials said.

They said that the migrants - who include about 1,500 minors - either swam around the border fences that jut out into the sea or walked across at low tide.

They are said to be mostly from Morocco. Spain says it has already sent some 2,700 back - but not the minors.

Spain's Ceuta and Melilla enclaves have become magnets for African migrants.

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 fuelled 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-meter (32-feet) fence.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said 200 troops, plus 200 extra police were going to assist Ceuta's normal 1,100-strong border force. The enclave has some 80,000 residents.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez cancelled a trip to Paris, where he was to attend a summit on international aid to Africa, and flew by helicopter to Ceuta. While calling Morocco a “friend of Spain,” Sánchez also urged authorities to “respect the shared border.”

By evening reports said the number of people trying to enter by sea had decreased. Some migrants were voluntarily returning to Morocco while others could be seen being carried away by soldiers.

Spain's Ceuta and Melilla enclaves have become magnets for African migrants trying to reach Europe.

Also on Tuesday, Moroccan security forces at Fnideq, the adjacent town to Ceuta, fired tear gas to disperse a large crowd of migrants at the border fence, AFP news agency reported.

At least 4,000 were returned to Morocco, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. Morocco and Spain signed an agreement three decades ago to expel all those who swim across the border.

Yet many arriving on Tuesday were sub-Saharan Africans who often migrate to flee poverty or violence at home. Spain has agreements to return some of those migrants to their native countries, but not all of them.

The prime minister also faced a political storm at home. The far-right Vox party blamed the migration crisis on the government’s “inaction” and sending its leader on a quick visit to Ceuta.

Many African migrants regard Ceuta and nearby Melilla, another Spanish territory, as a gateway into Europe. In 2020, 2,228 chose to cross into the two enclaves by sea or land, often risking injuries or death.

On Tuesday, another 80 African migrants reached Melilla, 350 kilometers (218 miles) east of Ceuta, by jumping over the enclave’s double fence.

(Inputs from Agencies)

Image Source: Reuters