Over the past two days, amid a diplomatic dispute between Morocco and Spain, more than 8,000 Moroccan migrants swam or climbed across the border into the small Spanish enclave of Ceuta in northern Africa. Border controls on the Moroccan side appear to have been relaxed recently, and thousands took advantage of the situation to flee to Spanish territory in search of opportunity. While about half of the new arrivals have since been returned to Morocco, thousands remain in Ceuta, relying on NGOs and locals who are struggling to provide food and support. Today, Spanish forces stepped up security as the influx of migrants appears to have slowed.
A Surge of Migrants Into a Spanish Enclave
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A Spanish legionnaire indicates the direction for Moroccan citizens to go on El Tarajal beach as they climb out of the water on the Spanish side of the Spanish-Moroccan border fence on May 18, 2021. #
Jon Nazca / Reuters -
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Moroccan migrants wade in shallow waters on the shore of the northern town of Fnideq as they attempt to cross the border from Morocco into Ceuta, Spain, on May 18, 2021. #
Fadel Senna / AFP / Getty -
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Moroccan minors line up at a facility prepared for them to rest and have food, after thousands of migrants swam across the Spanish-Moroccan border, in Ceuta, Spain, on May 19, 2021. #
Jon Nazca / Reuters -
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