Tensions ease on Spain-Morocco border but migrant row rankles

CEUTA: The seas were calm along the Moroccan-Spanish frontier late Wednesday with no sign of swimmers trying to reach Spain's north African Ceuta enclave after a record 8,000 arrivals in just one day.

Spanish authorities were caught by surprise when large numbers of people began flooding across the frontier on Monday as the Moroccan border forces looked the other way, quickly leaving the tiny territory overwhelmed.

Vowing to "restore order" along its borders, Spain quickly bolstered security measures, sending in troops and police reinforcements who were deployed along the frontier.

It has also been sending the arrivals home, with the Spanish government delegation in Ceuta giving an updated figure of 5,600.

But although the influx has slowed, it has not stopped with several hundreds more trying to make the trip on Wednesday, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

The influx has hiked existing tensions between Spain and Morocco, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday accusing Rabat of "disrespect" over the crisis.

The spat comes with Spain and Morocco at loggerheads over Madrid's decision to provide medical treatment for the ailing leader of the Western Sahara independence movement who has Covid-19.

By mid-evening, there was no sign of any more people in the sea and the numbers of soldiers on the beach were noticeably fewer, AFP correspondents said.