CEUTA: Spain deployed its military to the Moroccan border on Tuesday and expelled nearly half of the thousands of migrants who jumped fences or swam onto European soil over two days after Rabat loosened border controls amid a deepening diplomatic spat.
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 fueled 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-metre (32-feet) fence.
Most of the migrants are from Morocco and 4,000 have been returned so far
A man is held by soldiers of the Spanish Army at the border of Morocco and Spain at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. A record 6,000 migrants entered Ceuta illegally on Monday, 1,500 of whom were minors. AP Photo
A Spanish soldier helps a migrant as troops are deployed along the coast in Ceuta. EPA
Migrants manage to grab onto a boat of the Moroccan authorities near the coast of Fnideq in an attempt to cross over to Ceuta. EPA
A Spanish Civil Guard holds onto a migrant who swam onto the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. AFP
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