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MADRID: Spain has decided to deploy troops to its North African enclave of Ceuta after thousands of migrants attempted to enter the territory by sea in a single day, overwhelming border security.
At least 15 migrants reportedly drowned while trying to swim into the Spanish enclave.
On Thursday, thousands of migrants climbed over a concrete breakwater along the Moroccan border, jumped into the sea and attempted to swim or scale border barriers to reach Ceuta.
The mass crossing placed enormous pressure on the enclave’s border controls and created chaotic scenes along the coastline.
Unable to cope with the influx, local authorities requested emergency assistance from the central government in Madrid.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to visit Ceuta on Friday and has pledged to restore order as quickly as possible.
The move comes shortly after Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea cannot be immediately returned to Morocco.
Spain’s Interior Ministry has accused human trafficking networks of exploiting the ruling to encourage irregular migration. In response, the government has decided to deploy the armed forces alongside the Civil Guard to strengthen security in Ceuta.
The incident has also sparked political tensions across Europe.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the mass crossing as a threat to Europe’s border security and warned that Italy could temporarily suspend the Schengen free movement arrangement with Spain.
However, Spanish Foreign Minister José Luis Albares dismissed the remarks as “politically motivated” and called for European unity in addressing the migration crisis.
