Spain: Spanish Military Prepares for New Migration Invasion

Spain is still trying to recover from the recent massive assault on its border and beaches by some 70,000 people of various nationalities coming from Morocco. Thousands still remain on the streets of Ceuta, the Spanish enclave located on the n. African coast, and now, the military is cancelling all leaves in anticipation of a massive new wave expected on August 15.

The below article from El Independiente is translated by Fousesquawk.

Spain

Migration crisis

Defense cancels all leaves to soldiers due to fear of a massive new arrival in Ceuta

A new wave predicted for August 15

The Ceuta General Command has ordered the cancellation of all leave for soldiers stationed in the autonomous city, a measure that will go into effect next Thursday, August 13, and will remain in force until further notice. According to what defense sources have confirmed, only very specific and duly justified exceptions will be considered, which will have to be authorized on an individual basis by the chief of the corresponding unit. 

The Association of Troops and Seamen of Spain (ATME) has clarified that this order requires all personnel on leave in the (Iberian) Peninsula or abroad to immediately return to duty. The president of this organization, Marco Antonio Gomez, has directly linked the drastic decision to the serious situation experienced in the area after the massive entry of 72,000 people coming from Morocco last week.

The fear of a new attempt at a massive entry called for on social media for next Saturday, the 15th, has raised alarms in a city that has a strong military presence. In the autonomous city, there are thousands of personnel permanently deployed in units such as the Legion, the Group of Regulars of Ceuta #54, the Third Mountain Cavalry Regiment, and the Engineering Regiment.

The professional association says that it understands the decision from the perspective of the demands of the job but demands that the socio-economic impact on the affected personnel be urgently analyzed. In this sense, Gomez has publicly questioned whether the Ministry of Defense will assume the economic compensation for the soldiers for the loss of tickets and previously reserved lodging. 

The cancellation of leaves is especially hard for personnel of South American origin within the armed forces. According to the spokesperson for the ATME, many of these troops save during the entire year to visit their families for a period of only 10 or 15 days, for which reason they have requested a criterion of flexibility and exception in these specific cases.

Military personnel stationed on the border are experiencing maximum concern due to the fact that there are still thousands of immigrants who are on the streets of the city. To respond to the exceptional circumstances and maintain their regular duties, military personnel are faced with enormously demanding days, divided into shifts of 8 hours on patrol, 8 hours of rest, and 8 hours of alert in the barracks.

Finally, the representative of the soldiers stressed the troops’ performance, which acts in direct support of the National Police, the Civil Guard, and the local police. Gomez emphasized that their work is carried out in strict conformance with existing law, expressly stating that the troops do not carry out summary deportations or directly expel anybody to the Moroccan side.