Migrants, refugees swim from Morocco to the Spanish Ceuta expanse
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Including the children, more than 100 people made the dangerous journey, some of whom used swimming rings and rubber boats.
Local authorities reported that more than 100 people, including two families with children, swam from Morocco overnight to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Monday.
The migrants and refugees set off from the southern beaches of Ceuta and were arrested when they entered small Spanish territory, according to a spokesman for the Civil Guard police member.
They were mostly young men, but children and women also arrived in the meantime, said a spokesman for the Spanish government delegation in Ceuta.
Some used inflatable swimming rings and others used rubber boats, a spokesman told AFP news agency.
“It was low tide and in some places it could almost be crossed,” he said.
Red Cross staff checked in migrants and refugees before taking them to a reception center, AFP reported.
Spanish authorities contacted members of Morocco, but it was too early to say whether the Moroccans would be deported, a spokesman for the Spanish government’s Ceuta delegation told the Associated Press.
A spokesman who was not allowed to identify himself by name said he could not specify the number of people who made the crossing, but confirmed that they were “more than 100”.
A spokesman added that he was in the process of identifying the police.
Life-threatening journeys
Ceuta and the surrounding area of Melilla, another Spanish enclave located in North Africa, have the European Union’s only land border with the mainland, making it a popular entry point for those who want a better life in Europe.
Every year, hundreds of people risk injury or death when they try to reach territories by jumping over fences, hiding inside vehicles or around breakwaters that extend into the Mediterranean Sea.
It is surrounded by a double 10-meter fence that surrounds 8 kilometers (5 miles) with southwestern Morocco in Ceuta, with the rest of the small territory facing the Strait of Gibraltar and the European continent facing the Mediterranean Sea.
At the end of April, more than 100 young Moroccans swam into Spanish territory, and most returned to their country in less than 48 hours after being confirmed as adults.
Spain does not grant Moroccan asylum status.
Unassisted friends are allowed to legally oversee the government in the country.
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