Spain's African enclave struggles to handle migrant influx

Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta has awakened to a humanitarian crisis after thousands of migrants who crossed over from Morocco spent the night sleeping where they could find shelter

CEUTA, Spain -- Thousands of migrants who have become pawns in a diplomatic spat between Morocco and Spain awoke to an uncertain future on Wednesday, after sleeping where they could find shelter following their massive border breach to reach the European country’s north African enclave of Ceuta. Social services for the small city perched on an outcropping in the Mediterranean buckled under the strain after more than 8,000 people crossed into Spanish territory during the previous two days. Exhausted by either scaling a double-wide border fence or risking their lives by swimming around a breakwater to reach a beach on the European side, many migrants spent the night in overcrowded warehouses under the gaze of Spanish police. Spain’s Interior Ministry said that it had returned more than half of the migrants. Those included some teenagers who appeared to be under 18 that Associated Press journalists saw Spanish police usher back across the border. Spanish law stipulates that unaccompanied minors must be taken into care by authorities.