Ceuta government orders border police to stand down as migrants breach frontier

Sources within the police confirm that the Ceuta government delegation issued a telephone directive to the six national police officers present at the Tarajal border crossing, ordering them to hold back and permit entry for the migrants. The command was received around noon, after the mass movement had started, and the officers, already outnumbered, complied by opening the gate. The riot police unit deployed by the interior ministry consisted of just a dozen officers for the entire Tarajal area, a number described as insufficient for the workload.

Video footage shows an officer walking calmly among the crowd once the gate was opened. Police unions report a growing sense of abandonment among the officers, intensified by recent comments from the national government leader attributing the decision to a choice between border security and saving lives.