A large number of migrants descended on the North African enclave of Ceuta, spiralling out of control after online videos went viral to persuade thousands to make the perilous journey across the sea from Morocco to the Spanish mainland, Spanish authorities have stated.
A very few migrants who first came across to enter the enclave turned into tens of thousands, whose number soon exceeded the capacity of border security and humanitarian responses as migrants swam with flotation devices or homemade rafts to Spanish territory.
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The unprecedented flow has raised unprecedented tensions between Spain and Morocco and surfaced relatively new issues related to the management of migration flows, border security, and the role of social media in the facilitation of migration by irregular means.
Following an earlier report, Reuters has posted a correction which states that it removed a previous report about March that included an ‘incorrect’ date relating to the migration surge.
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The news agency explained that it started “slowly” and then escalated “quickly” following the release of viral online images.
Since then, only Spanish anti-immigration police forces have strengthened the border and emergency services have supported all migrants related to the crisis.
