Sleepless night near border of Spain's Ceuta as migrants torch vehicles

FNIDEQ, Morocco, July 31 - Thousands of migrants streamed into the Moroccan town of Fnideq near the border with Ceuta overnight, despite a reinforced deployment of security that foiled most attempts to cross into the Spanish enclave.

Spanish state television TVE said between 2,000 and 3,000 people crossed into Ceuta on Thursday. Most of those who succeeded in crossing appeared to have done so before midday, according to residents of Fnideq.

Ceuta, along with Melilla, another Spanish autonomous city in northern Morocco, represents the European Union's only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.

SPAIN SENT MILITARY, POLICE REINFORCEMENTS

Spain sent military and police reinforcements to Ceuta after the surge, while authorities in the enclave said nine bodies had been retrieved.

Although the border crossing appeared blocked, groups of migrants moved along the coast seeking routes around the fence and some prepared to swim.

"I was late," said Brahim, 32, who gave only one name. He said he had arrived from Tangier hoping to cross through the gate but found it effectively shut.

Among those hoping to cross into the enclave of 85,000 were women and children as well from Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Moroccan authorities deployed water cannon trucks and reinforced security at the crossing-gates, repeatedly pushing back migrants attempting to approach.

Nearby stood the charred remains of a bus and seven vehicles, left after clashes that erupted as authorities sought to stop the crowds, according to Reuters witnesses.

CAUGHT IN A STAMPEDE

Another migrant said he had been caught in a stampede during an attempted crossing.

"I feared for my life," said the migrant, who declined to give his name, as he described chaotic scenes of people pushing and stepping on one another along a narrow coastal route.

Traffic clogged roads into Fnideq as would-be migrants, including minors, continued to arrive. Some trudged along the highway into the city late into the night, while others took mountain paths to avoid checkpoints.

Security forces repeatedly turned back people making concerted rushes on the crossing through the night hours, while migrants regrouped on roads, hills and open spaces across the city.

Spain's Socialist government stands out in Europe for its pro-migrant stance, and has recently launched a programme to provide legal status for some 500,000 undocumented migrants, triggering an influx of applications double that number.

Early on Friday, Fatima Mahli, 23, sat with her two daughters on a patch of grass beside the road to the crossing.

The resident of Morocco's northern city of Tetouan said her husband had left before dawn to try to swim to Ceuta.

"I thought I could cross by foot through the border. But we are stuck here, unable to go back home," she said.

"I was hoping to cross as a family but my husband woke up early and went first, swimming." REUTERS