Clashes On Morocco Border As Madrid Accuses Rabat Of 'blackmail'

Fnideq, Morocco, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th May, 2021 ) :Spain accused Morocco of "blackmail" on Thursday for allowing a record 8,000 migrants to reach the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta, sparking a crisis that saw clashes on the Moroccan side of the border overnight.

Spanish authorities were caught by surprise on Monday when large numbers of mostly young people began swimming or using small inflatable boats to cross the frontier as the Moroccan border forces looked the other way, quickly leaving the tiny territory overwhelmed.

However calm had seemingly returned to Ceuta on Thursday after Madrid moved quickly to deploy reinforcements and send most of the migrants back to Morocco.

And after a restless night, the streets of nearby Moroccan border town of Fnideq were deserted, after thousands had gathered there earlier in the week to try to cross to Spain.

Moroccan authorities had charted buses to take people back to different cities in Morocco where they had come from, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

On Wednesday night hundreds of Moroccan youths had thrown stones at Moroccan forces guarding the border, forcing them to retreat.

The youths also set fire to a motorcycle. The clashes broke out when police tried to break up the crowd.

The dispute between Spain and Morocco comes during heightened tensions over Madrid's decision to provide medical treatment for the ailing leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, who has Covid-19.

Analysts said it was clear Morocco had turned a blind eye to those entering Ceuta in order to put diplomatic pressure on Spain to recognise its sovereignty over Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony mainly under Moroccan control.

- 'No future here' - Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said Thursday Morocco's actions were "an aggression of Spanish borders and of the borders of the European Union".

"We are not talking about youths aged 16, 17, (but rather) children as young as seven or eight were allowed through according to NGOs... ignoring international law," she said in an interview with Spanish public radio.

"Call it what you want but I call it blackmail," she said, adding "it is not acceptable to put the lives of minors or of people of one's own country, at risk." Spain's government said that around 6,000 of the roughly 8,000 migrants had already been sent back, and there were no new entries on Wednesday as anyone who reached Ceuta's beach was immediately returned.

Many of the returned migrants said they hoped to get into Ceuta again if border controls were eased once more.

"I have no future here, I want to work to help my family," 17-year-old Mohamed told AFP in Fnideq after being returned from Ceuta.

By Thursday afternoon life in Ceuta -- a small enclave of 84,000 inhabitants which is connected to mainland Spain by ferry services across the narrow Strait of Gibraltar -- appeared to have returned to normal.

Shops and bars were open and people went about their daily life, although the occasional police helicopter flew overhead and pockets of newly-arrived youngsters could be seen roaming the streets.

Most had been given face masks to protect against Covid-19, but not all were wearing them.

"Put your mask on!" snapped an elderly man in Spanish, reflecting many people's worries about the new arrivals spreading the virus.

- 'Used as pawns' - Many youths appeared to have gravitated to a central park where scores of young men were lying on the grass or standing around in groups, bored and aimless but occasionally breaking into enthusiastic football-style chants of "Ole, ole, ole -- Espana!".

Ceuta, along with Spain's other North African enclave Melilla, have the European Union's only land border with Africa and have long been a magnet for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

Spain has received the support of top European officials, with European Commission vice president Margaritis Schinas warning that Europe "won't let itself be intimidated by anyone on the issue of migration" in a veiled allusion to Morocco.

Rabat responded in the form of a flurry of angry dispatches published by the official MAP news agency saying that "Morocco is a sovereign country" and "is not the police of Europe".

Several NGOs have expressed concern over the huge number of minors who have crossed into Ceuta from Morocco -- and the fact that Madrid is sending them back.

"Asylum seekers and migrants are being used as pawns in a political game between Morocco and Spain," Amnesty said in a statement.

It estimated that "around 2,000 unaccompanied children" had entered Ceuta this week from Morocco.

The Spanish government meanwhile said around 1,500 minors have entered Ceuta since Monday, and that as of Thursday around 800 were still there. It said many had returned to Morocco "voluntarily".