Madrid accuses Rabat of ‘blackmail’

FNIDEQ, Morocco: 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.

But Madrid moved quickly to return most of the migrants and calm has largely returned the Spanish beach of Tarajal in Ceuta, where soldiers and armoured vehicles have been deployed in large numbers. The outskirts of the Moroccan border town of Fnideq were deserted on Thursday, also under a heavy security presence.

However the previous night hundreds of Moroccan youths threw stones at Moroccan forces guarding the border, forcing them to retreat, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. The youths also set fired to a motorcycle.

The migrant influx comes amid tensions between Rabat and Madrid over Spain’s decision to provide medical treatment for the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, who has Covid-19. The Polisario Front has fought for the independence of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony mainly under Moroccan control.