Migrants run and chant as they cross on foot from Morocco to the North African enclave of Ceuta after arriving swimming from the Moroccan side and overtaking police at the city's breakwater, Spanish Civil Guard said.
Afrasianet -In scenes that encapsulate the depth of the humanitarian crisis and the desperation that drives young people and minors to risk their lives, the Spanish-occupied city of Ceuta has entered a new phase of heightened escalation and alert.
Despite tight surveillance and tight security restrictions imposed by the Moroccan and Spanish authorities on land and sea routes, irregular migrants, dreaming of reaching the "European paradise", continue to devise dangerous methods of crossing the border, from swimming long distances to using parasails to cross "from the sky", despite the dangers of "inevitable death".
Spanish authorities in Ceuta have recorded one of the largest waves of irregular migration in recent years, after more than 1,600 migrants arrived and attempted to cross within a few hours from the Moroccan coast. In statements carried by the media, led by the newspaper "El Faro" published in Ceuta, members of the Spanish Civil Guard saw that these figures broke all records, which sparked a state of terror among local officials in anticipation of a repeat of the scenario of the May 2021 crisis, which witnessed an unprecedented mass influx.
Intensive crossing attempts were concentrated in the areas of Tarakal, Juan XXIII, Rento and Sarchal, where successive groups of men, women and children arrived at close times. Although patrols by the Royal Moroccan Navy and the Spanish Civil Guard navy intervened to save hundreds of drownings, the sheer numbers overwhelmed the security services on both banks.
The nationalities of the expatriates vary between sub-Saharan African countries and Algeria, but Moroccans constitute the largest part of irregular migrants, with a remarkable presence of minors and families of all members, where painful humanitarian cases have been recorded, including the attempt of a mother to cross with her three children before rescuing them.
Social media platforms circulated photos of two Moroccan girls who managed to reach Ceuta for a swim. Journalist Mustafa al-Asri commented angrily in a Facebook post, saying: "This is the real outcome of the government... Moroccan girls gamble with their lives to swim to the occupied territory of Morocco in Ceuta. In search of the best that their irrational government in independent Morocco has not provided them."
Infiltration attempts are no longer limited to the sea, but have spread to the skies by unfamiliar means. With the tightening of security at land and sea ports, parachutes have become an option for flying over barbed wire. However, this extremely dangerous method soon resulted in a tragedy, in which two migrants died while trying to cross the border by air.
Journalist Ahmed Beouzan, who specializes in monitoring migration flows in the region, explained in statements quoted by the Spanish news agency (EFE) that mass entrants are arranged through coordination and incitement within closed messaging groups on social media applications, where participants agree on the timing and possible crossing points, with the aim of mobilizing as many as possible to confuse border guards and facilitate access to groups.
This influx has put unprecedented pressure on the shelters and reception centres in Ceuta, with the underage centres reaching a record level compared to their capacity, while at the Temporary Accommodation Centre for Migrants (CETI), hundreds of adult migrants have been forced to sleep in the open and outside the centre's walls due to the lack of space.
The center, which is the main facility for receiving migrants in the city, has reached its maximum capacity, currently housing about 800 migrants, while more than 400 people are waiting in its outer surroundings for the opportunity to join it, after the arrival of irregular migrants continued at an accelerated pace in recent days.
In the face of this situation, the head of the local government of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, described the situation in a press conference as "very dangerous", stressing that all the city's capacity has been depleted. Vivas called on the central government in Madrid and the European Union to intervene quickly to immediately transfer clandestine migrants, adults and minors to the rest of Spanish territory, provide exceptional financial resources, strengthen security forces, and consider establishing a unified command to manage the crisis.
On the Moroccan side, the city of Fnideq (adjacent to Ceuta) is witnessing a major state of security alert, in light of the continued wave of irregular migration towards the occupied city of Ceuta, after the Moroccan authorities strengthened the deployment of their various security agencies along the coastal strip and the areas adjacent to the "Bab Ceuta" crossing, in an attempt to contain the flow of migrants wishing to cross by swimming.
According to the Moroccan newspaper "Al-Amaq", the Moroccan authorities have launched extensive operations to arrest dozens of young men before they reach the sea, where a number of them were transferred on buses to other destinations, as part of measures aimed at preventing the recurrence of mass crossing attempts in the area in recent days.
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