What is behind the surge in migrants reaching Spain’s Ceuta enclave?

The surge of migrants into Ceuta has strained relations between Morocco and Spain.

About 8,000 people have streamed into the Spanish city of Ceuta from Morocco in the past two days in an unprecedented influx, most of them swimming around breakwaters and across the border to reach the Spanish enclave in North Africa.

The surge has strained relations between Morocco and Spain, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cancelling a trip to Paris to make an unscheduled visit to Ceuta, where Spain has deployed military reinforcements and police along the border.

Here is a look at what is going on:

– Where is Ceuta?

Migrants wait to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, near the border of Morocco and Spain — Migrants wait to cross into Ceuta, near the border of Morocco and Spain (Bernat Armangue/AP)

Last year, about 2,200 people crossed into Ceuta and Melilla by scaling border fences or swimming from the Moroccan side. Ceuta has a population of 85,000 and is connected to mainland Spain by ferry services across the narrow Strait of Gibraltar.

– What is happening in Ceuta?

Migrants arrive at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, near the border of Morocco and Spain — Migrants arrive at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta (Bernat Armangue/AP)

About 8,000, including 2,000 believed to be minors, reached Ceuta in the past two days by swimming or paddling in small boats around breakwaters separating the two countries.

Spain deployed troops and armoured vehicles to the border on Tuesday, rounding up migrants on a beach and sending many of them back to Morocco through a gate in the border fence. The Red Cross says one young man died and dozens were treated for hypothermia.

– What is behind the surge?

People walk past barbed wire in a forest in the Moroccan northern town of Fnideq on their way to the area at the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta — People walk past barbed wire in a forest in the Moroccan northern town of Fnideq on their way to the area at the border of Morocco and Spain (Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP)

Two Moroccan officials made that link in public comments on Wednesday. Mr Ghali heads the Polisario Front, which is fighting for an independent Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that Morocco annexed in the 1970s. He was admitted to hospital in the Spanish city of Logrono last month in a move that angered Morocco’s government, which warned there would be “consequences”.

Some experts say the issue goes beyond Mr Ghali and that Morocco wants Spain to support Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, like the US did under the Trump administration last year.

– What happens to the migrants now?

Under a three-decade-old agreement between the two countries, Spanish authorities can return adults who cross the border irregularly. On Tuesday, Spanish soldiers could be seen directing migrants toward a border gate, in some cases hitting them with batons to make them hurry up.

An AP reporter saw several children among those being pushed back, even though the Spanish government claimed that no unaccompanied minors were being returned. Many of the unaccompanied minors were being held in quarantine in warehouse shelters run by the Red Cross.

– What are the wider implications for Spain?

A man from Morocco is assisted by a Guardia Civil officer as he arrives swimming at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta — A man from Morocco is assisted by a Guardia Civil officer after swimming to Ceuta (Javier Fergo/AP)

In recent years, Spain has seen spikes in migrant arrivals on its southern coast as well as in the Canary Islands, sparking concerns over migration that have helped fuel the rise of Vox, a far-right party that entered parliament in 2019.

Vox was quick to blame the situation in Ceuta on the government’s “inaction” and its leader visited the city on Tuesday.

– How does this affect migration across Europe?

A boy is helped by a man while climbing a fence in the area at the border of Morocco and Spain, outside the Spanish enclave of Ceuta — A boy is helped by a man while climbing a fence in the area at the border of Morocco and Spain (Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP)

The situation in Ceuta and a similar crisis on Turkey’s land border with Greece last year show how such deals can give transit countries plenty of leverage over the 27-nation EU.

The bloc’s home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson called the Ceuta influx “worrying” and noted that Spain’s border with Morocco is also the EU’s external border. She urged Morocco to prevent more people from crossing it irregularly.