Spain, Morocco square off after 8,000 migrants swim, paddle over to Spanish soil

Spain deployed the military to its border with Morocco on Tuesday and expelled nearly half the thousands of migrants who jumped fences or swam onto European soil over two days after Rabat loosened border controls amid a deepening diplomatic spat. While calling Morocco a “friend of Spain,” Sánchez also urged authorities to “respect the shared border.” A senior Moroccan Foreign Ministry official said the government had recalled its ambassador to Spain for consultations. The European Union’s top migration official, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, described the incidents as “worrying,” and called on Morocco to prevent people from setting out in the first place. Morocco’s Foreign Ministry has said that Madrid’s move to assist Brahim Ghali was “inconsistent with the spirit of partnership and good neighborliness,” and warned there would be “consequences.” Vivas, Ceuta’s conservative regional president, said residents were in a state of “anguish, concern and fear” and 60% of the city’s children had not shown up for school Tuesday. Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya summoned Morocco’s ambassador, however, to express the government’s “disgust” and to communicate that Spain rejected “the massive entry of Moroccan immigrants.” Moroccan Ambassador Karima Benyaich was later recalled by Rabat.