By Jesús Maturana & Sonja Issel
The Spanish government said on Thursday it would deploy the army to its North African enclave of Ceuta to reinforce security after hundreds of migrants crossed illegally during a chaotic 24-hour period, many swimming around the border to reach the territory.
Earlier, Ceuta's regional president, Juan Jesús Vivas, urged Madrid to declare a national emergency and assume control of the situation in the autonomous city, warning that local authorities had been overwhelmed by the surge in arrivals.
The Interior Ministry had initially ruled out declaring a national emergency, saying Spain's civil protection regulations do not classify migration flows as a risk covered by the National Civil Protection System. It later announced the deployment of troops to help restore order and reinforce security.
Meanwhile, the European Commissioner for Migration, Austria's Magnus Brunner, said he was in constant contact with the Spanish authorities and stressed that protecting the EU's external borders remains "a crucial part of our efforts to fight illegal migration".
