Brussels 18.05.2021 Some 6,000 undocumented migrants arrived illegally in the Spanish exclave city of Ceuta in North Africa on Monday 17 and Tuesday May 18, according to the central government’s delegate in the city. Government sources told Spanish news agency Efe that around 1,500 of the migrants may be minors, although their age still needs to be confirmed. Most of the arrivals were recorded between 4.30pm and 7pm yesterday.

The migrants reached Ceuta by swimming from the neighboring city of Fnideq, which is on the border of the breakwater that demarks the exclave city from Morocco. Other migrants used rudimentary swimming boards to make it to from the Moroccan city, also known as Castillejos, and which is home to around 7,000 people. The migrants entered via Tarajal beach and the area of Benzú. One person died in the crossing, according to the Cadena SER radio station and confirmed by this newspaper. Moroccan authorities made no effort to stop the wave of arrivals and the Moroccan government remained silent on the issue on Monday, May 17.

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In response to the situation, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said via Twitter that Spain “will defend the integrity” of Ceuta “against any challenge. My priority right now is restoring normality in Ceuta. Its citizens must know that they have the absolute support of the Spanish government and our utmost resolve to protect their security,” he wrote.

The Doctor of Philosophy and teachter of International Relations of the Universidad Comillas ICADE, Elsa Aimé González, points out that after an arrival of these unusual characteristics is the “use of migrants as a bargaining chip within a political pulse between two governments. “” It is not something that cannot be foreseen, “ she said.

“What we have been seeing not only now but since recent months with the increase in the arrival of migrants to the Canary Islands is that Morocco is using the migration issue as an instrument of political pressure to obtain compensation from Spain and the EU and achieve alignment with their own political project “, highlights the professor.

The fact that there are 6,000 people who have arrived in this way to Spanish territory really has to call our attention because of the way and the ways they have to migrate,” he adds. “You have to abandon a logic that is based on emergency and in punctual responses and seek policies that seek to respond to the structural dimension of the migratory reality “.

European Council President Charles Michel expressed “full solidarity” with Spain after holding urgent talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who canceled a trip to Paris to deal with what he termed a “serious crisis” for both his country and the EU.

European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told the European Parliament that the influx on Monday was unprecedented. About 1,500 of the recent arrivals are reported to be minors.