Spain returns 6,600 to Morocco, families look for loved ones

Officials in a Spanish enclave in North Africa are getting flooded with calls from Moroccan parents after hundreds of children and teenagers were swept up in a diplomatic storm between Spain and Morocco

CEUTA, Spain -- Officials in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, have been flooded with calls from Moroccan parents after hundreds of children and teenagers were swept up in a diplomatic storm between Spain and Morocco over migration. Mabel Deu, a spokesperson for the autonomous city, said Friday a hotline set up Thursday had received 4,400 calls from desperate relatives seeking information. So far, authorities have confirmed 438 unaccompanied minors were among more than 8,000 people who arrived in Ceuta from Morocco between Monday and Wednesday by scaling a border fence or swimming around it. Social service workers were checking the ages of many more young people who are in shelters or roaming the streets, Deu said. “Our goal is that they reunite with their parents as soon as possible because we understand the anguish and worry of many families who don’t know where their children are,” she said.