How ‘Moroccan cops helped’ 60k migrants invade Spanish enclave by land and sea – as Army wrestles back control of city

TENS of thousands of migrants managed to swarm a Spanish enclave by sea and on land across two days. Taking multiple routes, they swam around the breakwater, jumped fences and hid in the back of trucks to enter into Ceuta. Police officers and Spanish soldiers escort migrants out of Spain, after mass crossings Credit: Reuters Spanish military forces clashed with migrants as they stormed the beaches Credit: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock The majority have already returned to Morocco, according to officials. But the unprecedented surge sparked fears over border controls as questions on how the crisis spiralled out of control continue to swirl. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Around 60,000 arrivals are estimated to have flooded into Ceuta – a city with a population of 84,000 – on Thursday and Friday. Shocking images showed crowds of migrants swimming around the breakwater to evade the border controls. Migrants arrived in Ceuta by sea to avoid immediate explusion Credit: AP Chaos broke out on the beaches as they stumbled out onto land. One man wearing Lycra was seen carrying a bike with him in the water alongside hundreds of other migrants rushing to the shore. The tiny Spanish territory that juts on a spit of sandy land into the Mediterranean is just a few hundred metres via water from Morocco. According to a swimming instructor in Morocco, several would-be migrants had started lessons or had taught themselves to swim in the lead up to the crossing. Most read in The Sun Migrants cling onto the back of a truck after crossing the border into Ceuta Credit: REUTERS Dozens of people hold up barbed wire fences as others slip through Credit: AP Photo/STR Facebook groups advertised the sale of flippers and diving suits to make reaching the Spanish territory by sea easier. Thousands of others arrived at the Morocco-Ceuta border on foot, by bicycle or concealed in the back of vehicles. Footage shows people jumping from the back of a truck on a main road while two Moroccan guards watch on without intervening. It has since been claimed that Moroccan officials allowed the migrants to storm Ceuta due to tensions with Pedro Sánchez. Spanish soldiers find a migrant hiding in a tunnel at the Tarajal beach Credit: Reuters A soldier lines up migrants near a supermarket as the Spanish army responds to the crisis Credit: Reuters The plot was allegedly set up in response to the Spanish Prime Minister’s pursuit of gas deals with neighbouring Algeria. Several Moroccans said they were encouraged to cross the border by authorities. Youssef Alaoui, 26, told The New York Times that police pointed them in the direction of Ceuta. He said: “They just kept saying: ‘Go that way, go that way’.” Mohammed Ahmidho, 37, said he heard about people crossing on social media and that police told him “come to Spain” as he neared the border. Morocco allowed 8,000 migrants into Ceuta in 2021 following a row with Madrid over its claims to the disputed Western Sahara. At least 60 people died attempting to reach the enclave, either by drowning or being crushed at the border fence. Water cannon trucks were deployed and the charred remains of a bus and seven cars could be seen from clashes with the Spanish army. Nearly 50,000 are understood to have returned to Morocco, according to the Interior Ministry, as the Spanish Army rounded up crowds. Images showed hundreds of migrants flanked by tanks and army officers as they were led back to the Spanish border.