Spain's Ceuta Faces Migrant Emergency as Hundreds Arrive by Sea

Hundreds of migrants entered the Spanish north African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, many swimming around the border fence, according to AFP reporters. The influx has pushed the total arrivals in recent days to around 1,500, prompting local authorities to declare a humanitarian and social emergency.

Juan Vivas, the president of Ceuta, said Wednesday that reception centres were saturated. 'We are in a situation of total humanitarian and social emergency,' he told Spanish television on Thursday. 'There is no more room for anyone in them, and according to yesterday's figures the number of people entering is more than 200 a day.'

On the Moroccan side of the border, hundreds of people, including children, gathered near the crossing point at Fnideq, waiting to enter. Some said they had heard rumours the border would open on Thursday morning, coinciding with Morocco's Throne Day national festival.

Spanish police and Civil Guards in Ceuta appeared to do little to intervene, though some officers directed arrivals to the local migrant reception centre. Migrants walked through the streets, thanking police and calling out, 'Bye bye, Morocco, hello Spain.'

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government was 'focused on providing an immediate response to the crisis in Ceuta.' He pledged to mobilise all necessary resources and work with Moroccan and international authorities to restore normality. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska will travel to Ceuta on Friday to monitor the situation.

The interior ministry said Spain and Morocco would implement measures for the transfer of all those who entered illegally 'as soon as possible.' It blamed human trafficking networks and said resources had been increased to guarantee security and humanitarian aid.

Opposition parties criticised the government. Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo called it a 'national security crisis,' while far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal blamed Sanchez personally for the influx.

Ceuta and Melilla are Europe's only two land borders with Africa. Migration from Morocco into these territories has long been a politically sensitive issue between the two countries.