Last Updated on May 19, 2021
Video footage from the Spanish city of Cueta, in North Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, shows Spanish troops repelling an influx of thousands of Sub-Saharan migrants that Moroccan authorities have allowed to stream across the border this week.
The group of migrants, numbering around 8,000, took advantage of lax border security in Morocco to invade Cueta. One female migrant told the Associated Press, “They let people pass and stand there without speaking. People just pass and pass and pass.”
READ MORE: Greek Soldiers Open Fire on Migrants, Vigilantes Beat Journalists and NGO Employees
Approximately 4,000, or half, of the migrants were successfully deported after Spanish troops were summoned to the scene. Video footage captured some of the clashes between migrants and soldiers that resulted in the invading force being pushed back into the sea, as well as the events that led to the border crisis in the first place..
https://twitter.com/josepgoded/status/1394679651654586372
https://twitter.com/Based_Finland/status/1394644233487740928
https://twitter.com/Good_Girl_95/status/1395000615529504773
Spain has deployed troops to Ceuta to patrol the border with Morocco after thousands of migrants swam into the north African enclave on Monday amid heightened diplomatic tensions. pic.twitter.com/z6vXTIn9yv
— ANews (@anews) May 18, 2021
This video shows how Moroccan border guards actively open the door and let people cross into #Spain.
This is Bab Sebta (Ceuta's gate) the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of #Ceuta source: @Reuters pic.twitter.com/5LdzzO832I— Bruno Boelpaep (@BrunoBoelpaep) May 18, 2021
Spain has sent back 2,700 migrants to #Morocco out of the more than 6,000 who swam from the North African country into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta over the past two days.
Ceuta is Spanish territory bordering the European Union in #NorthAfrica. pic.twitter.com/3tvQRVMRmt
— Global News (@GlobalNewsEU) May 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/ChalecosAmarill/status/1394885443045449728
https://twitter.com/epaphotos/status/1394992542702264324
The situation appears to have stabilized as of Wednesday, with only a few migrants attempting to breach the border.