Spain Sends Army to African Enclaves to Stop Waves of Immigrants

Spain has deployed troops after record numbers of migrants entered its north African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

Some 8,000 people have reached Ceuta in two days, Spanish officials say.

They say the migrants - who include about 1,500 minors - either swam around the border fences that jut out into the sea or walked across at low tide.

Spain's Ceuta and Melilla enclaves have become magnets for African migrants.

Most of the migrants are said to be from Morocco. The Spanish troops have been deployed to the beach to help border police at Ceuta's main entry point - on the enclave's south side.

Extraordinary scenes were captured offshore as families waded through the water and officers from Spain's Guardia Civil went into the sea to rescue young children.   Spain Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said 200 troops, plus 200 extra police were going to assist Ceuta's normal 1,100-strong border force. The enclave has some 80,000 inhabitants. By evening reports said the number of people trying to enter by sea had decreased.   Spain received support from senior EU officials, with European Council President Charles Michel tweeting: "Spain's borders are the European Union's borders."   Since the 17th Century both Ceuta and Melilla have been under Spanish rule, though they are long claimed by Morocco. The port cities now form the EU's only land border with Africa. They have semi-autonomous status, like some regions of mainland Spain./Bbc