About 800 people have tried to enter Europe by storming a border fence that separates Morocco from Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta, according to Spanish police.

The incident on Thursday morning followed renewed warnings about Spain’s ability to cope with the rising number of migrants and refugees who have been arriving on its southern coast. It also came just hours before the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, was to meet the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to discuss the EU’s response to the migration crisis.

Spain’s Guardia Civil said 800 people from sub-Saharan Africa rushed the fence at Ceuta at 6.35am, using shears and hammers to smash the high, razor wire-topped barriers, and attacked officers.

“In an attempt to stop the Guardia Civil getting close to the break-in area, the migrants … [pelted] officers with plastic containers of excrement and quicklime, sticks and stones, as well as using aerosols as flame-throwers,” it said.

The force said 602 people had succeeded in reaching Ceuta, of whom 586 had been taken to a temporary reception centre, while 16 were being treated in hospital. Fifteen police officers were also hurt, it added.

Although Spain has been praised for taking in the 630 people onboard the rescue ship Aquarius after it was turned away by Italy and Malta, it is finding it much harder to deal with the thousands of people crossing from north Africa.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 19,586 people have arrived in Spain by sea so far this year, more than in Italy (17,981) or Greece (15,351).

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police help people down from the the border fence between Morocco and Ceuta, Spain. Photograph: Reuters Tv/Reuters

Town councils, police unions and NGOs in southern Spain have complained that they simply do not have the resources to deal with the number of people arriving.

The mayor of Algeciras, José Ignacio Landaluce, said the port city was having to divert funds and act as a humanitarian stopgap. He also said the Spanish government and the EU needed to step in to stop the area becoming “the new Lampedusa” as more and more people landed on the coast.

“I hope the EU is working on a global policy on this: it may be our problem initially, but tomorrow, or in a week’s time, or a month’s, it’ll be at the heart of Europe,” he said.

“We’ve never, ever, ever had 1,000 migrants arriving in Spain each weekend. And all this could just be for starters: there’s a lot of the summer left and there are thousands and thousands of migrants arriving on the coasts of north Africa and thousands and thousands more who have been waiting to cross for months or years.”

Carmen Velayos, the secretary general of the United Police union in Cádiz, said the region’s infrastructure had been “overwhelmed” by the rise in arrivals.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People rescued off Gibraltar prepare to spend the night onboard a Spanish rescue boat at the port of Algeciras, Spain. Photograph: Marcos Moreno/AP

“Migrants are sleeping wherever they can: the police stations are full, the converted sports centres are full and the reception centres are full,” she said.

“There’s a reception centre for minors in La Línea de la Concepción that’s meant for 30 people. Right now there are 200 little kids there, sleeping on the floor. You’ve even got people sleeping on the decks of maritime rescue boats because there’s nowhere else for them.”

Velayos called for an annual action plan to anticipate the migrant flow and for increased human and material resources: “At the moment, we’re just patching over things.”

Others point out that large-scale arrivals are hardly a new phenomenon on Spain’s southern shores. In 2017, almost 22,000 migrants and refugees arrived by sea – almost four times as many as arrived the previous year.

“This has been going on for more than a decade,” said Carlos Arce, migration co-ordinator for the Andalusian Association for Human Rights. “It’s when more people arrive than usual that you see the defects and failings of the system.”

Arce said the Spanish authorities needed to stop looking at the issue as a policing or border problem and see it instead as a humanitarian imperative.

The Aquarius, he said, should serve as an example of what could be achieved with the necessary political focus and resources. “That’s the paradox: the new government has shown there are other ways of doing things if it wants to.”

Sánchez’s recently formed socialist government has blamed its conservative predecessor for failing to act on the problem, but said it was committed to improving the situation.

“We’re working on an emergency plan to reinforce the system and give more help to the NGOs working on arrivals,” Magdalena Valerio, the minister for work, migration and social security, said on Thursday morning. “I know this is a problem and that the apparatus is being overwhelmed.”</s>Hundreds of migrants armed with sticks and homemade flamethrowers broke through the border fence in Ceuta, according to the Spanish Civil Guard. Over 100 migrants and 15 border agents were injured in the fight.

“Over 700 sub-Saharans” attempted to storm the border fence, the Civil Guard said in a statement, adding that “at least 602” of them managed to cross the barriers. Volunteers and the local branch of the Red Cross said that 132 migrants sustained injuries, while 11 had to be taken to a local hospital.

Some of them were cut with barbed wire while trying to climb the border fence, and others sustained broken bones. The scuffles also led to 15 border agents receiving injuries. Some agents were burnt as the migrants attacked them with homemade flamethrowers while trying to avoid arrest.

Migrants were also reportedly fighting off the border agents with sticks, quicklime and sprays containing fouls odor. The migrants appeared over the fence and “all of a sudden,”, some of them were pelting police with “plastic containers full of excrements and quicklime… stones and sticks”, the Civil Guard said.

Spanish media cited police who say the recent incident is one of “the most violent and numerous entries” of asylum seekers in recent months.

Ceuta is one of two Spanish territories in North Africa, along with Melilla. The city is a hub for African migrants trying to reach Europe.Over 19,000 people have landed on in Spain in 2018 so far, according to the data from the International Organization for Migration.

Back in June, newly appointed Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced his desire to remove the fence. “I’m going to do everything possible to see that these razor wire fences at Ceuta and Melilla are removed,” he said.

Responding to the Thursday incident in Ceuta, the Guardia Civil’s AEGC union called upon the Spanish authorities to clarify its “plan B” to maintain security if the wire was removed.

“We’re one of the main entry points from the third world into Europe and none of those in charge at the interior ministry have wanted to see or resolve the problems this is causing,” it said.

According to the police union, migrants breaking through the fence “demonstrated that these problems are going to worsen if more Guardia Civil, and anti-riot and protection equipment, fail to arrive when the barbed wire is removed.”

Asylum seekers have repeatedly tried to force their way into the Spanish exclave by storming a wired border fence. The attempted incursions often resulted in injures both among asylum seekers and police officers. In January 2017, crowds of migrants approached the 6-meter-high barbed wire border fence which police called a “well organized and violent” attempt. In February 2017, hundreds successfully crossed into Ceuta, kissing the ground and shouting “Viva Espana!”</s>Hundreds of migrants have stormed border fences separating Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in a bid to get into Europe.

Spanish police said 602 migrants made it on to Spanish soil in a massive assault on high, barbed-wire fences shortly after dawn.

Migrants cut holes in the fences and threw faeces and quick lime, a skin irritant, at police officers trying to hold them back, the Guardia Civil said.

They also threw stones at police vehicles, breaking windows, and hurled makeshift flamethrowers at officers.

Police said 16 migrants were taken to hospital while five of 15 police who were injured needed hospital treatment.

The Spanish Red Cross said that 132 migrants were hurt in the mass charge.

Sub-Saharan Africans living illegally in Morocco try to get to Europe each year by climbing rows of 20ft high fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s other North African enclave.

Those who make it across head for crowded, temporary migrant accommodation centres. They are eventually repatriated or let go.

Thursday’s assault added to pressure on Spanish authorities from a recent wave of migration, mostly migrants crossing the Mediterranean on unsafe boats.

The International Organisation for Migration says so far this year more than 22,700 migrants have arrived in Spain – three times more than in the same period last year.

Almost 20,000 of them arrived by sea, as good weather allowed more crossings on the short route across the Strait of Gibraltar and a recent crackdown by Libyan authorities had led migrants to choose other routes.

NB. Photo is from a previous event where migrants stormed the fence in Ceuta last year.</s>BLOODIED: Some of those who made it into Spain cut themselves on the barbed wire-topped border fence.

MORE than 700 African migrants have stormed a border fence in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

Many are believed to have made it onto Spanish soil in the wake of the early morning raid, and some reportedly attacked police officers with homemade flame-throwers, human faeces and quicklime as they scaled the six-metre high barbed wire-topped double barrier.

One large group reportedly used secateurs and circular saws to slice open parts of the fence before pouring through as Moroccan police and Guardia Civil officers battled to stop the onslaught for over an hour.

Ceuta Red Cross has reported more than 130 injuries, including 22 policemen, with at least 11 people hospitalised after the fence almost collapsed due to the weight of the people atop it.

Many of the immigrants who successfully crossed the border could be seen screaming with joy or kissing the floor as they roamed the streets of the North African territory.

Others headed straight to the Temporary Migrant Centre, which currently houses 600 people despite its official capacity of 520.

The overcrowding of the centre has sparked chaos in the enclave, with groups of immigrants forced to sleep in the open or makeshift tents, while 1,300 people have been rescued while trying to cross the Strait of Gibraltar since Monday.

Local media said the surprise offensive, which saw a section of the border notorious for blind spots due to a lack of security cameras targeted, could be the biggest yet seen after Moroccan police confirmed they made “hundreds” of arrests on their side of the fence.

It comes after former Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido last year told Spanish parliament that nine similar swoops on frontiers in Ceuta and Melilla - Spain’s other African enclave – in 2017 had seen 8,956 people enter Spain illegally, compared to just 613 in 2016.

And the International Organisation for Migration says that 22,700 migrants have arrived to Spain so far this year, a year-on-year increase of 300 per cent.</s>Is this or is this not an invasion?

Ceuta is a Spanish city on the North African coast, one of two Spanish territories in North Africa (Melilla is the other). Ceuta is a hub for African migrants trying to reach Europe. The city has a border fence of parallel 20 ft. wire fences topped with barbed wire, which forms part of the Morocco–Spain border. Constructed by Spain, the fence’s purpose is to stop illegal immigration and smuggling.

On July 26, 2018, some 800 “sub-Saharan” African migrants, armed with sticks and homemade flamethrowers, broke through the Ceuta border fence.

The Spanish Civil Guard reported that the “migrants” used electric radials, shears and mallets to cut the border’s outer and inner protection mesh. The “migrants” also wielded “defensive material” such as flamethrowers, iron hooks, stones, sticks, and Molotov cocktails. They also hurled plastic containers of excrement and quicklime.

602 migrants broke through the border and entered Ceuta. They threw stones at border agents and official vehicles. As a result of the migrants’ violence, 15 civil guards were wounded, five of whom had to be treated in Ceuta’s University Hospital.

The Spanish Red Cross tweeted that 132 migrants were injured, 11 of whom had fractures.

Over 19,000 “migrants” have entered Spain in 2018 so far, according to the data from the International Organization for Migration.

But in June 2018, newly appointed Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced his desire to remove the Ceuta fence: “I’m going to do everything possible to see that these razor wire fences at Ceuta and Melilla are removed.”

After the Ceuta border violence, the Spanish Civil Guard’s AEGC union asked the Spanish government to clarify its “plan B” to maintain security if the wire was removed. The union said: “We’re one of the main entry points from the third world into Europe and none of those in charge at the interior ministry have wanted to see or resolve the problems this is causing.”
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• ‘Migrants’ repay Italian rescuers by threatening to decapitate them</s>Spanish authorities say about 400 migrants have stormed barbed-wire fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

Hundreds of migrants may have made it onto Spanish soil in the charge, made shortly after dawn today, according to Spanish news agency Europa Press, quoting Ceuta police.

Sub-Saharan Africans living illegally in Morocco try to get to Europe each year by climbing rows of 6m-high (20-foot-high) barbed-wire fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other North African enclave.

This morning's mass charge added to pressure on Spanish authorities from a recent wave of migration.

The International Organization for Migration says so far this year that more than 22,700 migrants have arrived in Spain - three times more than in the same period last year.

Almost 20,000 of them arrived by sea.

Several policemen keep watch over some of the 400 migrants that managed to jump off the border fence between Spain and Morocco, in Ceuta, Spanish enclave in northern Africa</s>MADRID -- Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. The Guardia Civil said 602 migrants made it onto Spanish soil in a massive assault on high, barbed-wire fences shortly after dawn.

Migrants cut holes in the fences and threw feces and quicklime, a skin irritant, at police officers trying to hold them back, the Guardia Civil said in a statement.

They also threw stones at police vehicles, breaking windows, and hurled makeshift flamethrowers at police officers.

The police statement said 16 migrants were taken to the hospital, while five of 15 police hurt were also hospitalized.
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The Spanish Red Cross said in a tweet that 132 migrants were hurt in the mass charge, including 11 who were hospitalized with broken bones and other injuries.

Sub-Saharan Africans living illegally in Morocco try to get to Europe each year by climbing rows of 20-feet high fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other North African enclave. Those who make it across head for crowded, temporary migrant accommodation centers. They are eventually repatriated or let go.

Thursday's assault added to pressure on Spanish authorities from a recent wave of migration, mostly migrants crossing the Mediterranean on unsafe boats.

The International Organization for Migration says so far this year more than 22,700 migrants have arrived in Spain -- three times more than in the same period last year.

Almost 20,000 of them arrived by sea, as good weather allowed more crossings on the short route across the Strait of Gibraltar and a recent crackdown by Libyan authorities had led migrants to choose other routes.</s>At least 602 migrants charged and managed to climb over the border fence separating Morocco and Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, the regional interior ministry said.

The Civil Guard branch of the police said the mass border breach took place at around 7am at an area of the fence considered a blind spot due to its lack of cameras, while the city's Red Cross said it had scrambled many emergency rapid response units.</s>Spanish authorities say hundreds of migrants have stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

Spanish news agency Europa Press quotes Ceuta police saying as many as 400 migrants may have made it onto Spanish soil in the assault, shortly after dawn Thursday.

Sub-Saharan Africans living illegally in Morocco try to get to Europe each year by climbing rows of 6-meter-high (20-foot-high) barbed-wire fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other North African enclave.

Thursday's mass charge added to pressure on Spanish authorities from a recent wave of migration.

The International Organization for Migration says so far this year more than 22,700 migrants have arrived in Spain — three times more than in the same period last year. Almost 20,000 of them arrived by sea.</s>A migrant in this still image from video climbs the border from Morocco to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, Spain, 26 July 2018. Photo: FARO TV/REUTERS TV/via REUTERS

MADRID - More than 600 African migrants reached the Spanish territory of Ceuta on Thursday after storming a double border fence with Morocco and attacking police with caustic quicklime and excrements.

The scramble over the barbed wire-decked barrier is the biggest in Ceuta since February 2017, when more than 850 migrants entered the overseas territory over four days.

The incident further increases pressure on Spain, which has now surpassed Italy as the number one destination for migrants crossing the Mediterranean by boat.

More than 19,580 people have landed on Spanish shores so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil police force in Ceuta told AFP close to 800 migrants had stormed the double barrier, which is also covered in small blades, early on Thursday morning from Morocco.

Moroccan police stopped around 100 of them, while 602 managed to climb over into Spain.

Some were caught by Spanish police between the double barrier or stuck on top and returned to Morocco.

Spain's new Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said last month he would "do everything possible" to remove barbed wire from border fences that surround Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish territory on Morocco's northern border.

Both territories have the European Union's only land borders with Africa, drawing migrants trying to reach the bloc.

The migrants scrambled over the fence "all of a sudden", some pelting officers with "plastic containers full of excrements and quicklime... stones and sticks", the Guardia Civil police said.

They also set spray cans on fire, using them as "flame-throwers."

Fifteen police officers were injured in the violence, some sustaining burns to their face and arms.

Red Cross spokeswoman Isabel Brasero said 30 migrants also needed medical treatment, many of them cutting their hands and legs as they scrambled over the barbed wire.

While 16 were taken to the hospital, the rest were sent to a migrant arrival centre, the Guardia Civil said.

Local television footage showed some migrants straddling the top of the barrier.

One of them was seen stuck in barbed wire, with Spanish police using cutters to release him before helping him down.

The Guardia Civil's AEGC union on Thursday called on the government to clarify its "plan B" to maintain security if the barbed wire was removed.

"We're one of the main entry points from the third world into Europe and none of those in charge at the interior ministry has wanted to see or resolve the problems this is causing," the union said in a statement.

"Today demonstrated that these problems are going to worsen if more Guardia Civil and anti-riot and protection equipment fail to arrive when the barbed wire is removed."

Italy used to be the first entry point for migrants taking boats from Libya, an unstable country where armed factions vie for power and human traffickers proliferate.

But new far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has taken a tough stance on migration and denied entry to NGO ships rescuing migrants at sea.

He insists the country is overwhelmed even if arrivals have dropped by 80 percent compared to the height of the migration crisis, which erupted in 2015.

Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell on Wednesday criticised Italy for closing that migration route in a "questionable manner".

He warned that more migrants would take the western Mediterranean route to Spain as a result of Rome's actions, calling on Europe to draw up a viable, long-term action plan or be faced with "very serious problems."
Hundreds of Sub-Saharan African migrants storm a border fence in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, using home-made flamethrowers and other improvised weapons. The Spanish Civil Guard reports that 602 people succeeded in reaching Ceuta, of whom 586 were taken to a temporary reception centre, while 16 others are being treated in a hospital. Fifteen border guards were also hurt.