EU countries demand Schengen travel with Spain be suspended as 60K migrants swell in Spanish exclave

The situation in the Spanish North African exclave of Ceuta has continued to deteriorate as close to 60,000 migrants have flooded over the border, leading to clashes with police and riots.In response to this multiple EU countries have requested that the free travel agreement that exists between EU nations, known as the Schengen zone, be suspended with Spain as the crisis escalates. The city of just over 83,000 has seen its population close to double in the last 48 hours as tens of thousands of Moroccan migrants, seemingly all young men, have breached the border fence into the exclave."The situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable," said Ceuta Mayor-President Juan Jesús Vivas.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the surge of migrants "a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity” and blamed the situation on human traffickers who had tricked the migrants into believing they would get asylum in Ceuta.Sanchez said that the human traffickers "deceive so many young people and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths—whether in the ocean or, as in this case, at Spain’s border in the autonomous city of Ceuta.”.Footage taken from the city shows waves upon waves of young men streaming over the border, some swimming across or some just breaking down the security fences and forcing their way through.Overnight migrants clashed with police forces, leading to the deaths of 34 migrants. There were also reports and footage of the migrants rioting and looting local shops..Clashes between migrants and groups of Spanish locals have also been filmed, showing groups of young men moving through the streets of Ceuta, kicking and beating migrants..On Friday morning, there were videos posted showing many of the migrants walking back across the border. It is likely the sheer number of people who had crossed the border made any kind of asylum or assistance from local authorities impossible..According to reports, around 25,000 have been forced to leave or have voluntarily returned to Morocco as local authorities seemingly restore some semblance of local control over the city.The incident has garnered international reactions from European and global leaders. American President Donald Trump has also mentioned the event, seemingly trying to use it for political points, saying that if Republicans aren't re-elected, then similar scenes will occur in the United States.In Europe itself, leaders from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic have all requested that the Schengen Agreement with Spain should be suspended as a result of the recent border breach.Italy has gone a step further, suspending their Schengen Agreement with Spain and closing its sea and air borders as a preventative measure.Despite this the land border still remains open but any boat or air travel from Spain will not be subject to the free travel agreement.

EU countries demand Schengen travel with Spain be suspended as 60K migrants swell in Spanish exclave

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