CEUTA: Hundreds of migrants tried to force their way past tightened security into Ceuta on Wednesday, as Spain pressed on with the expulsion of thousands who had swum or climbed into its North African enclave over the past two days.
Around two-thirds of the roughly 8,000 migrants who made it to Ceuta, including unaccompanied children, have been expelled, Spanish authorities say, though many of those returned said they would again try to reach Europe.
As thousands gathered in the Moroccan border town of Fnideq, near the frontier with Ceuta, hundreds of them clashed after dark with Moroccan riot police, throwing stones and setting on fire a motorbike and a rubbish bin, a Reuters witness said.
The rush of migrants began on Monday when Morocco appeared to loosen border controls, a move widely interpreted as retaliation for Spain's hosting of a Western Sahara independence leader.
As dense afternoon fog descended on Wednesday, hundreds of young men tried to approach the six-metre-high (20-foot-high) border fence before being repelled by Moroccan police, who later urged the crowd to disperse.
Others had entered the water and begun swimming towards Ceuta's beach a few hundred metres (yards) away. Spanish television showed the army meeting boys as they reached the shore. Some 1,500 underage migrants are now in reception centres in Ceuta from this and previous waves, Spain said.
On the northern tip of Morocco across from Gibraltar and with a population of 80,000, the enclave has periodically been a magnet for refugees seeking a quick way into Europe. But Rabat has cracked down on border traffic in recent years.
'JUICE AND A CAKE'
"I am not losing hope. I have friends in Ceuta where I can stay till I get a chance to cross to Spain," Souhail Abbadi, a man in his 20s from Tangier in northwest Morocco, told Reuters.
Earlier, Spanish police and soldiers escorted long lines of Moroccans and other mainly sub-Saharan Africans through a gate back into Morocco.
"We were given juice and a cake, that is all," said Mohamed, from Ait Melloul in southwest Morocco, after Spanish soldiers sent him back as soon as he arrived.
He and many other returnees gathered in Fnideq, where they said they were receiving no aid.
Rights group Amnesty International said Spanish security forces had used violence, including beating migrants or throwing them into the sea. It also accused Morocco of using migrants as pawns in its dispute with Spain.
Migrants interviewed by Reuters said they had been beaten by Spanish security forces before being sent back to Morocco. A Reuters journalist watching the arrivals in Ceuta on Wednesday did not see any beatings or people being thrown into the sea.
Many of the migrants still in Ceuta were children, some as young as seven and some without families, said Spain's Social Rights Minister Ione Belarre.
"Many of them did not know the consequences of crossing the border. And many of them want to go back," she told broadcaster TVE.
Reuters TV footage showed hundreds of teenagers being processed at a warehouse where Red Cross officials gave out food and drink.
'WHAT DID SPAIN EXPECT?'
Morocco's minister of state for human rights, El Mustapha Ramid, suggested late on Tuesday that Rabat was justified in relaxing border controls after Polisario Front rebel leader Brahim Ghali entered Spain.
"What did Spain expect from Morocco, which sees its neighbour hosting the head of a group that took up arms against the kingdom?" he wrote in a Facebook post.
Madrid said it had made a humanitarian decision to allow in Ghali, whose movement seeks independence for Moroccan-run Western Sahara.
In a further twist, Spain's high court summoned Ghali to appear on June 1 for a preliminary hearing in a war crimes case against him, but he declined to sign the papers, a court document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.
A source close to the investigation said he might seek diplomatic immunity under an Algerian passport.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez did not link events in Ceuta to Ghali's situation, calling Morocco a friend of Spain, though Rabat recalled its ambassador to Madrid for consultations.
Moroccan authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Reuters
Thu May 20 2021
![Migrants push for Spain's Ceuta again after border security tightened Migrants push for Spain's Ceuta again after border security tightened](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2021-05/81621477945_SPAIN.jpg)
Moroccan minors queue at a facility prepared for them to rest and have food, after thousands of migrants swam across the Spanish-Moroccan border, in Ceuta, Spain, May 19, 2021. REUTERSpic
Jualan penyaman udara naik mendadak di negara Balkan
Menetap di negara sejuk, mereka tidak pernah terfikir memasang penyaman udara di dalam rumah memandangkan musim panas bukanlah setiap hari. Namun, cuaca panas melampau membuatkan mereka bertukar fikiran.
![Malaysia kecam sekeras-kerasnya pencerobohan ekstremis Zionis Israel ke atas Masjid Al-Aqsa Malaysia kecam sekeras-kerasnya pencerobohan ekstremis Zionis Israel ke atas Masjid Al-Aqsa](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-01/61706688348_wismaputra.jpg)
Malaysia kecam sekeras-kerasnya pencerobohan ekstremis Zionis Israel ke atas Masjid Al-Aqsa
Kerajaan Malaysia mengecam sekeras-kerasnya pencerobohan Masjid Al-Aqsa oleh ekstremis Zionis Israel pada 13 Ogos.
![Reda dengan pemergian anak walaupun bukan pengakhiran diharapkan - Ayah Nidza Afham Reda dengan pemergian anak walaupun bukan pengakhiran diharapkan - Ayah Nidza Afham](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723653359_TBMOKHTAR.jpg)
Reda dengan pemergian anak walaupun bukan pengakhiran diharapkan - Ayah Nidza Afham
Ayah kepada penyanyi dan Youtubers Muhammad Nidza Afham Mokhtar reda dengan pemergian anak lelakinya walaupun itu bukan pengakhiran yang beliau harapkan.
Ahli perniagaan diberkas, terlibat dalam aktiviti kumpulan mafia
Seorang ahli perniagaan Itali ditangkap di bandar Natal, Brazil pada selasa.
Giuseppe Bruno kini menghadapi tuduhan termasuk melakukan pemerasan dan pengubahan wang haram dan juga penglibatan bersama kumpulan mafia.
Giuseppe Bruno kini menghadapi tuduhan termasuk melakukan pemerasan dan pengubahan wang haram dan juga penglibatan bersama kumpulan mafia.
Srettha hormati keputusan mahkamah
Srettha Thavisin menghormati keputusan Mahkamah Perlembagaan Thailand yang memecatnya daripada jawatan Perdana Menteri.
Lahir empat hari lepas, bayi kembar maut angkara serangan rejim Zionis
Kembar lelaki diberikan nama Asser manakala Ayssel pula nama diberi buat kembar perempuan, kedua-duanya lahir pada 10 Ogos lepas.
Lelaki tikam ibu saudara direman tujuh hari
Seorang lelaki yang disyaki menikam ibu saudaranya di kepala dengan gunting, semalam direman selama tujuh hari hingga 21 Ogos ini.
PN senarai pendek tiga calon, akan diumum selepas PRK Nenggiri
Perikatan Nasional telah menyenarai pendek tiga calon untuk bertanding pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Mahkota yang dijadualkan berlangsung pada 28 September depan.
![10 cedera dalam kejadian reaktor kilang terbakar di Bintulu 10 cedera dalam kejadian reaktor kilang terbakar di Bintulu](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/41722145972_KebakaranGeneric.jpg)
10 cedera dalam kejadian reaktor kilang terbakar di Bintulu
Menurut PGOB kesemua mangsa yang cedera telah dikejarkan ke Hospital Bintulu untuk rawatan lanjut.
![Mayat Muhammad Nidza Afham dibawa ke Hospital Shah Alam Mayat Muhammad Nidza Afham dibawa ke Hospital Shah Alam](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/61713736324_HusseinOmarKhan.jpg)
Mayat Muhammad Nidza Afham dibawa ke Hospital Shah Alam
Mayat Muhammad Nidza Afham Mokhtar yang ditemukan di Sungai Klang petang tadi dibawa ke Unit Forensik Hospital Shah Alam (HSA) untuk urusan bedah siasat.
![Copa del Rey: Barcelona pamer dominasi penuh belasah Ceuta 5-0 Copa del Rey: Barcelona pamer dominasi penuh belasah Ceuta 5-0](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-01/51674184102_Barcelona.jpg)
Copa del Rey: Barcelona pamer dominasi penuh belasah Ceuta 5-0
Blaugrana memulakan perlawanan pusingan 16 itu dengan agak perlahan tetapi tidak berdepan masalah untuk meneruskan kemaraan.