Amid the escalating crisis, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned the EU will expand sanctions on Belarus and will target airlines that support "human trafficking".

Poland: Over 33,000 illegal attempts to cross the border

Belarus says that it is working to repatriate migrants at its border with Poland in an apparent attempt in diffusing the crisis; this comes as the EU prepares new sanctions against Belarus.

'Belarus border situation unacceptable,' EU readies sanctions over migrant crisis

The situation at the Poland-Belarus border continues to escalate. Major world powers have shifted the blame and sought to shake responsibility as thousand of migrants from West Asia are manhandled by troops stationed at either side.

Vladimir Putin says Russia 'has nothing to do with it'

Millions around the world are fleeing war, poverty and climate change. Is it incumbent upon countries to take in the migrant and give them asylum? While forced displacement is heart-breaking, countries too are stretched for resources. Palki Sharma tells you why migrants are a tricky issue.

Gravitas: Why migrants are a tricky issue around the World

The European Union says it is being destabilised. The bloc claims Russia & Belarus have weaponised 2,000 migrants. Poland has stationed 15,000 troops to protect its borders. Will 2,000 migrants fleeing war trigger the next war? Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: Will 2,000 migrants trigger a war in Europe?

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's Prime Minister, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of engineering the migration crisis on the country's border with Belarus.

"(Belarusian leader) Lukashenko is the executor of the latest assault, but this assault has a sponsor who is to be found in Moscow, and this sponsor is President Putin," Morawiecki said during an emergency debate in the Polish parliament.

At least 2,000 migrants are stranded at the border in subzero temperatures.

According to the prime minister, the situation at the border is part of Russia's campaign to destabilise an area that it ruled during the Soviet era. 
 
Watch | Gravitas: Poland blocks hundreds of migrants at Belarus border

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-poland-blocks-hundreds-of-migrants-at-belarus-border-428115/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Our eastern border's security is being blatantly compromised." 
 
"This is the first time in 30 years that we can declare our borders' integrity is being tested," he added.

Watch:&nbsp;Migrants aided by Belarus try to storm border into Poland

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/migrants-aided-by-belarus-try-to-storm-border-into-poland-427960/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

According to Moscow and Minsk, the Russian and Belarussian leaders spoke by phone on Tuesday about the border tensions between Poland and Belarus.&nbsp;

Belarus's president, Alexander Lukashenko, disputes that the country is sending individuals over the border in retaliation for EU sanctions.&nbsp;

Poland reinforced its border with Belarus with additional riot police a day after parties attempted to storm a barbed-wire barrier. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/orchestrated-influx-poland-blocks-migrants-at-belarus-border-as-it-warns-of-an-armed-escalation-427860">Also Read:&nbsp;Poland blocks migrants at Belarus border</a>

Thousands of migrants and refugees remain en masse on Poland's eastern border, on the brink of the European Union.&nbsp;

The European Union said on Tuesday that it is keeping a close eye on 20 nations, including Russia, for their suspected involvement in the transfer of migrants to Belarus, which Brussels accuses of coordinating the flood of migrants at its external frontiers.

Thirteen countries have been sanctioned for allegedly transporting migrants to Minsk via planes.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's Prime Minister, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of engineering the migration crisis on the country's border with Belarus.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's Prime Minister, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of engineering the migration crisis on the country's border with Belarus. "(Belarusian leader) Lukashenko is the executor of the latest assault, but this assault has a sponsor who is to be found in Moscow, and this sponsor is President Putin," Morawiecki said during an emergency debate in the Polish parliament. At least 2,000 migrants are stranded at the border in subzero temperatures. According to the prime minister, the situation at the border is part of Russia's campaign to destabilise an area that it ruled during the Soviet era. Watch | Gravitas: Poland blocks hundreds of migrants at Belarus border "Our eastern border's security is being blatantly compromised." "This is the first time in 30 years that we can declare our borders' integrity is being tested," he added. Watch: Migrants aided by Belarus try to storm border into Poland According to Moscow and Minsk, the Russian and Belarussian leaders spoke by phone on Tuesday about the border tensions between Poland and Belarus. Belarus's president, Alexander Lukashenko, disputes that the country is sending individuals over the border in retaliation for EU sanctions. Poland reinforced its border with Belarus with additional riot police a day after parties attempted to storm a barbed-wire barrier. Also Read: Poland blocks migrants at Belarus border Thousands of migrants and refugees remain en masse on Poland's eastern border, on the brink of the European Union. The European Union said on Tuesday that it is keeping a close eye on 20 nations, including Russia, for their suspected involvement in the transfer of migrants to Belarus, which Brussels accuses of coordinating the flood of migrants at its external frontiers. Thirteen countries have been sanctioned for allegedly transporting migrants to Minsk via planes. (With inputs from agencies)

Putin masterminding the migrant crisis at Poland-Belarus border, claims Polish PM

Hundreds of migrants are stranded at the Poland-Belarus border. Poland and other EU member states accuse Belarus of encouraging migrants to illegally cross the border into the EU. Palki Sharma tells you how these migrants have become a pawn in this geopolitical conflict.

Gravitas: Poland blocks hundreds of migrants at Belarus border

After a surge of illegal migration from the Belarus border, Poland recently said that it has blocked various attempts by hundreds of migrants to illegally enter the country as it warned of an "armed" escalation.

After a surge of illegal migration from the Belarus border, Poland recently said that it has blocked various attempts by hundreds of migrants to illegally enter the country as it warned of an "armed" escalation. The Polish government held a crisis meeting on Monday and deployed nearly 12,000 troops to the region. Not just Poland, but Lithuania and Latvia have also raised issues of a surge in the number of people trying to enter their countries from Belarus. Many of them come from the Middle East and Asia. Polish authorities are furious w Belarus migrants wanting to break through their border. PM says “our border is not just a line on the map. Our border is sacred. Polish blood has been spilled for it! This will be a major incident, shots will be fired & there will be casualties.” pic.twitter.com/BU5xZ4f5Hv — 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) November 8, 2021 × However, Poland, which is a member of both the European Union and NATO, has drawn sharp criticism for its tough way of dealing with migration. Poland's defence ministry, in a tweet, said, "Interior ministry forces and soldiers managed to stop the first mass attempt to breach the border. Migrants have set up a camp in the Kuznica region. They are constantly guarded by Belarusian services." Also read | Exclusive: Belarus’ political future will be decided by its people, not Russia, says oppn leader Tsikhanouskaya Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller said that around 3,000 to 4,000 migrants were massing near the border. He said, "We expect that there may be an escalation of this type of action on the Polish border in the near future, which will be of an armed nature." He has blamed "people linked to Belarusian special services" for organising the breach. Washington and Brussels have called on Minsk to stop what they have termed as an orchestrated influx. NATO also hit out at Minsk, accusing the government of using the migrants as 'political pawns.' The European Union called for fresh sanctions against Belarus. The use "of migrants for political purposes is unacceptable", said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as she called on EU member states to impose new sanctions. Germany has also urged the EU to "take action" to help stem the migrant flow from Belarus. The country took in a million asylum seekers in 2015-2016. (With inputs from agencies)

'Orchestrated influx': Poland blocks migrants at Belarus border as it warns of an 'armed' escalation

Hundreds of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor wire fences and using branches to try and climb over them.

Migrants aided by Belarus try to storm border into Poland

Police in Guatemala have found 54 Haitian migrants, including 14 children, traveling toward Mexico in a truck trailer with the hope of reaching the United States, officials said Tuesday.

Two Guatemalans suspected of driving the truck were detained, police spokesman Jorge Aguilar said in a statement.

The Haitians were "immediately given assistance and transported to the border" with Honduras, from where they had entered Guatemala illegally.

Scores of Haitians have arrived in Central America trying to reach the United States, adding to the already large numbers of people from the region also looking for a brighter future there.

Many Haitians arrive in Central America after crossing the treacherous Darian Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama.&nbsp;

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Darian Gap in 2021 so far, according to official Panamanian figures, almost as many as during the past six years combined.

Over 50 migrants have died trying to cross that jungle this year alone, according to Panamanian authorities. 
The jungle route is full of peril, including wild animals, armed gangs and dangerous rivers.

Police in Guatemala have found 54 Haitian migrants, including 14 children, traveling toward Mexico in a truck trailer with the hope of reaching the United States, officials said Tuesday.

Police in Guatemala have found 54 Haitian migrants, including 14 children, traveling toward Mexico in a truck trailer with the hope of reaching the United States, officials said Tuesday. Two Guatemalans suspected of driving the truck were detained, police spokesman Jorge Aguilar said in a statement. The Haitians were "immediately given assistance and transported to the border" with Honduras, from where they had entered Guatemala illegally. Scores of Haitians have arrived in Central America trying to reach the United States, adding to the already large numbers of people from the region also looking for a brighter future there. Many Haitians arrive in Central America after crossing the treacherous Darian Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama. More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Darian Gap in 2021 so far, according to official Panamanian figures, almost as many as during the past six years combined. Over 50 migrants have died trying to cross that jungle this year alone, according to Panamanian authorities. The jungle route is full of peril, including wild animals, armed gangs and dangerous rivers.

Guatemalan police find 54 Haitian migrants in truck trailer

A new caravan of undocumented migrants is heading towards Mexico city in an attempt to seek permits for central and South American migrants to move freely in Mexico.

New caravan of undocumented migrants head towards Mexico city

No one knew the man’s name when he washed ashore. His body had floated in the ocean for weeks, and it then sat much of the summer unidentified in a refrigerator in a Spanish morgue.

He was one among thousands lost at sea during what has been a record year for migrant drownings in Spain. And he might have been sent with the other unclaimed dead to an unmarked grave if Martín Zamora had not figured out that the body had a name, and a life.

He was Achraf Ameer, 27, a mechanic from Tangier. He had been missing for weeks when Zamora reached his family by WhatsApp. He had found their son’s body. He could bring it to them in Morocco, for a price.

“Sometimes, I get the feeling that some years ahead — in 30, 40, 50 years, I don’t know how many — they will look at us like monsters,” he said. “They’ll see us all as monsters because we just let people die this way.”

Zamora, a 61-year-old father of seven, is the owner of Southern Funeral Assistance, a mortuary in Algeciras. But in this port city where the lights of Morocco can be seen across the Mediterranean, he has become more than that. Zamora is the body collector of those who don’t make it to Spain alive.

Zamora, who says he has repatriated more than 800 bodies in two decades, has forged a business model like few others. He wrestles with municipal officials to hand over bodies so he can embalm them. He works contacts with smugglers to find the people the remains belong to, and has made scores of trips to make contact with them, his last, to Morocco, in the month before the pandemic.

For families who had given up their loved ones as missing, Zamora’s work can offer a kind of closure they had lost all hope for.

But his services come at a steep cost — he charges $3,500 or more to get a body home. No Spanish agency will pay for what he does, and the profit margins of the work are low, he says. And so it leaves him in the gray zone, not uncommon in border towns like this, between the will to do good and the need to make a living.

“My next worry is finding the money,” Zamora said. “The family has nothing.”

Spain is witnessing a devastating procession of migrants drowning at sea.

During the first six months of the year, 2,087 people died or went missing trying to make it to the country’s shores, including 341 women and 91 children, according to Caminando Fronteras, a nongovernmental group that tracks the deaths. The International Organization for Migration, a United Nations body that keeps a more conservative count, has recorded more than 1,300 deaths so far this year.

Helena Maleno Garzón, who heads Caminando Fronteras, said Spain’s situation was especially perilous because it is the only European country with smuggling routes on both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. “These include some of the most dangerous routes which are now being used,” she said.

Dozens of boats have gone down this year near the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off West Africa. In May, others perished swimming around a border fence that extends into the sea at Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa encircled by Morocco.

Migrant boats also are tempted by the narrowness of the Gibraltar Strait, only 9 miles wide in one section, despite strong currents that sink many boats. Some drown only hours after leaving Africa, their bodies later washing ashore on beaches in Spain’s southern region of Andalusia.

The Spanish media sometimes carry stories about the latest bodies. Then, when the headlines recede, Zamora’s work begins.

The World We Live In

The body is the mystery. The clothes are often the only clues.

“It can be hard to identify someone’s face,” Zamora said. “But a shoe, a jersey, a T-shirt — suddenly a family member will recognize it, because it once was a gift.”

His first clue came in 1999, when he found a note inside the clothes of a dead Moroccan man. Back then, the government was outsourcing to funeral homes the job of burying unclaimed remains in a field alongside the local cemetery.

Zamora was on call when that body and 15 others were discovered on the beaches. He brought the corpses back to his mortuary and discovered the damp note with a phone number in Spain.

He called and a man on the other end of the line claimed to know nothing. But a few days later, Zamora recalled, the same man called back and admitted he was the brother-in-law of the young man who had drowned.

“I told him, ‘I’ll make you a deal: I’ll charge you half the price to get the body home, but you have to help me look for the rest of the families,’” Zamora said.

The man agreed to guide him to the region in southeastern Morocco where his brother-in-law had lived. Zamora first took care of the body of the young man, embalming it and sending it back to Morocco. Then he got permission from a local judge to take the clothes of the other dead migrants to Morocco.

Zamora and the relative went from village to village, carrying a large rack on which they hung the clothes of the dead migrants, along with rings and other personal effects, which they took to markets where they knew people would go.

After two weeks they had identified the remaining 15 relatives and repatriated every body.

Zamora realized he had a solution to what had been seen as a lost cause in Spain. Yet it costs thousands of euros to repatriate the bodies. And the families that he was meeting had far less than he did.

“You find the family, you get the father and the mother, they take you to where they live and you see it’s a tin shack on the side of a mountain with two goats and a rooster, and they tell you they want their son back,” he said. “What do you do? Be a businessman or be sentimental?”

Mohammed El Mkaddem, an imam at the mosque in Algeciras which makes collections for the families of the dead, said he understood Zamora’s constraints. “In the end, they run a funeral home and it’s a business,” said the imam. “But they do what they can, and we’re thankful for it.”

José Manuel Castillo, the director of the city morgue in Algeciras, said Zamora filled a gap left by the authorities. “Someone has to take care of the paperwork and the repatriation of the bodies, and if it’s Martín Zamora, that is great,” he said.

Even in the heat of southern Spain, Zamora wears a tie and loafers, looking more like a lawyer than an undertaker. On a recent afternoon, he was working on a body with his son, Martín Jr., 17.

“They found him in his work clothes,” Martín Jr. said of the corpse. “Maybe he went straight from work into the boat.”

The boy wandered off for a moment, and Zamora began to speak, almost to himself. His son was 15 the first time they worked together, after a boat carrying 40 people capsized off the coast of Barbate, just north of Algeciras, leaving 22 dead.

He was afraid his son would have nightmares, but Martín Jr. wanted to work, he said.

“No father wants his son to see these things,” Zamora said. “But this is the world we live in.”

A Mechanic From Tangier

Just before the summer, Zamora said he received a WhatsApp message from a man who identified himself as Yusef and said he worked at a mosque in the city of La Linea, across the border from the Rock of Gibraltar.

“There were two boys we don’t know if they are alive or dead — surely they are dead,” began the voice message. “The family was looking everywhere and I said we would ask someone we know who is involved in this kind of thing.”

The next message contained a picture of three men in a dinghy with homemade life vests, taken moments before they left Morocco. One was Achraf Ameer, the illiterate mechanic from Tangier.

With that, Zamora contacted the local authorities, who had a body in the morgue. They gave Zamora’s photographs of the man’s clothes, and Zamora — helped by Yusef — located Ameer’s sister in Tangier and showed her a photo of the clothes. These days, Zamora rarely needs to make the trips to Morocco that he used to, making identifications from afar.

“The paint on his clothes was the paint he has on his clothes at work,” the sister, Soukaina Ameer, 28, said in a telephone interview from Tangier.

She said her brother had tried once before to cross into Spain, only to be deported. This time, he didn’t tell anyone but left cryptic hints when the family began making plans to move to a new home.

“He was always telling us: ‘I won’t be living with you in the new house,’” Soukaina Ameer recalled.

He left on April 13, she said, his boat likely sinking the same night. His body floated in the sea for much of April before it came ashore around the end of the month. For the rest of the spring and part of the summer, it was placed in a morgue, where it deteriorated from not being frozen.

And so on a sweltering day, Zamora loaded Achraf Ameer’s body into his hearse and, with his son, drove past pines and sunflower fields. The body was wrapped in blankets from the Red Cross, which had found him. A hospital tag was affixed to one leg. At the mortuary, Zamora and his son arrived dressed in hazmat suits and began embalming.

Ten pumps from a long needle into Ameer’s shoulder. Another 10 into his chest. After an hour, Zamora wrapped the body in a shroud which he covered in a green cloak and sprinkled it with dried flowers, re-creating a Muslim rite that an imam had once shown him. Then he shut the lid on the coffin and he and his son took off their hazmat suits. The two were covered in sweat.

In the adjoining room sat stacks of case files, people whose bodies Zamora was still trying to locate after their relatives had gotten in touch with him. There was an Algerian man, born in 1986. There were two Moroccans who had been lost at sea; and a Syrian man, who once had a wife and lived in Aleppo.

And there was a ringing from the other room, and with it, another possible lead.

“Martín, go get my phone,” Zamora said to his son, taking off his gloves.

No one knew the man’s name when he washed ashore. His body had floated in the ocean for weeks, and it then sat much of the summer unidentified in a refrigerator in a Spanish morgue.

No one knew the man’s name when he washed ashore. His body had floated in the ocean for weeks, and it then sat much of the summer unidentified in a refrigerator in a Spanish morgue. He was one among thousands lost at sea during what has been a record year for migrant drownings in Spain. And he might have been sent with the other unclaimed dead to an unmarked grave if Martín Zamora had not figured out that the body had a name, and a life. He was Achraf Ameer, 27, a mechanic from Tangier. He had been missing for weeks when Zamora reached his family by WhatsApp. He had found their son’s body. He could bring it to them in Morocco, for a price. “Sometimes, I get the feeling that some years ahead — in 30, 40, 50 years, I don’t know how many — they will look at us like monsters,” he said. “They’ll see us all as monsters because we just let people die this way.” Zamora, a 61-year-old father of seven, is the owner of Southern Funeral Assistance, a mortuary in Algeciras. But in this port city where the lights of Morocco can be seen across the Mediterranean, he has become more than that. Zamora is the body collector of those who don’t make it to Spain alive. Zamora, who says he has repatriated more than 800 bodies in two decades, has forged a business model like few others. He wrestles with municipal officials to hand over bodies so he can embalm them. He works contacts with smugglers to find the people the remains belong to, and has made scores of trips to make contact with them, his last, to Morocco, in the month before the pandemic. For families who had given up their loved ones as missing, Zamora’s work can offer a kind of closure they had lost all hope for. But his services come at a steep cost — he charges $3,500 or more to get a body home. No Spanish agency will pay for what he does, and the profit margins of the work are low, he says. And so it leaves him in the gray zone, not uncommon in border towns like this, between the will to do good and the need to make a living. “My next worry is finding the money,” Zamora said. “The family has nothing.” Spain is witnessing a devastating procession of migrants drowning at sea. During the first six months of the year, 2,087 people died or went missing trying to make it to the country’s shores, including 341 women and 91 children, according to Caminando Fronteras, a nongovernmental group that tracks the deaths. The International Organization for Migration, a United Nations body that keeps a more conservative count, has recorded more than 1,300 deaths so far this year. Helena Maleno Garzón, who heads Caminando Fronteras, said Spain’s situation was especially perilous because it is the only European country with smuggling routes on both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. “These include some of the most dangerous routes which are now being used,” she said. Dozens of boats have gone down this year near the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off West Africa. In May, others perished swimming around a border fence that extends into the sea at Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa encircled by Morocco. Migrant boats also are tempted by the narrowness of the Gibraltar Strait, only 9 miles wide in one section, despite strong currents that sink many boats. Some drown only hours after leaving Africa, their bodies later washing ashore on beaches in Spain’s southern region of Andalusia. The Spanish media sometimes carry stories about the latest bodies. Then, when the headlines recede, Zamora’s work begins. The World We Live In The body is the mystery. The clothes are often the only clues. “It can be hard to identify someone’s face,” Zamora said. “But a shoe, a jersey, a T-shirt — suddenly a family member will recognize it, because it once was a gift.” His first clue came in 1999, when he found a note inside the clothes of a dead Moroccan man. Back then, the government was outsourcing to funeral homes the job of burying unclaimed remains in a field alongside the local cemetery. Zamora was on call when that body and 15 others were discovered on the beaches. He brought the corpses back to his mortuary and discovered the damp note with a phone number in Spain. He called and a man on the other end of the line claimed to know nothing. But a few days later, Zamora recalled, the same man called back and admitted he was the brother-in-law of the young man who had drowned. “I told him, ‘I’ll make you a deal: I’ll charge you half the price to get the body home, but you have to help me look for the rest of the families,’” Zamora said. The man agreed to guide him to the region in southeastern Morocco where his brother-in-law had lived. Zamora first took care of the body of the young man, embalming it and sending it back to Morocco. Then he got permission from a local judge to take the clothes of the other dead migrants to Morocco. Zamora and the relative went from village to village, carrying a large rack on which they hung the clothes of the dead migrants, along with rings and other personal effects, which they took to markets where they knew people would go. After two weeks they had identified the remaining 15 relatives and repatriated every body. Zamora realized he had a solution to what had been seen as a lost cause in Spain. Yet it costs thousands of euros to repatriate the bodies. And the families that he was meeting had far less than he did. “You find the family, you get the father and the mother, they take you to where they live and you see it’s a tin shack on the side of a mountain with two goats and a rooster, and they tell you they want their son back,” he said. “What do you do? Be a businessman or be sentimental?” Mohammed El Mkaddem, an imam at the mosque in Algeciras which makes collections for the families of the dead, said he understood Zamora’s constraints. “In the end, they run a funeral home and it’s a business,” said the imam. “But they do what they can, and we’re thankful for it.” José Manuel Castillo, the director of the city morgue in Algeciras, said Zamora filled a gap left by the authorities. “Someone has to take care of the paperwork and the repatriation of the bodies, and if it’s Martín Zamora, that is great,” he said. Even in the heat of southern Spain, Zamora wears a tie and loafers, looking more like a lawyer than an undertaker. On a recent afternoon, he was working on a body with his son, Martín Jr., 17. “They found him in his work clothes,” Martín Jr. said of the corpse. “Maybe he went straight from work into the boat.” The boy wandered off for a moment, and Zamora began to speak, almost to himself. His son was 15 the first time they worked together, after a boat carrying 40 people capsized off the coast of Barbate, just north of Algeciras, leaving 22 dead. He was afraid his son would have nightmares, but Martín Jr. wanted to work, he said. “No father wants his son to see these things,” Zamora said. “But this is the world we live in.” A Mechanic From Tangier Just before the summer, Zamora said he received a WhatsApp message from a man who identified himself as Yusef and said he worked at a mosque in the city of La Linea, across the border from the Rock of Gibraltar. “There were two boys we don’t know if they are alive or dead — surely they are dead,” began the voice message. “The family was looking everywhere and I said we would ask someone we know who is involved in this kind of thing.” The next message contained a picture of three men in a dinghy with homemade life vests, taken moments before they left Morocco. One was Achraf Ameer, the illiterate mechanic from Tangier. With that, Zamora contacted the local authorities, who had a body in the morgue. They gave Zamora’s photographs of the man’s clothes, and Zamora — helped by Yusef — located Ameer’s sister in Tangier and showed her a photo of the clothes. These days, Zamora rarely needs to make the trips to Morocco that he used to, making identifications from afar. “The paint on his clothes was the paint he has on his clothes at work,” the sister, Soukaina Ameer, 28, said in a telephone interview from Tangier. She said her brother had tried once before to cross into Spain, only to be deported. This time, he didn’t tell anyone but left cryptic hints when the family began making plans to move to a new home. “He was always telling us: ‘I won’t be living with you in the new house,’” Soukaina Ameer recalled. He left on April 13, she said, his boat likely sinking the same night. His body floated in the sea for much of April before it came ashore around the end of the month. For the rest of the spring and part of the summer, it was placed in a morgue, where it deteriorated from not being frozen. And so on a sweltering day, Zamora loaded Achraf Ameer’s body into his hearse and, with his son, drove past pines and sunflower fields. The body was wrapped in blankets from the Red Cross, which had found him. A hospital tag was affixed to one leg. At the mortuary, Zamora and his son arrived dressed in hazmat suits and began embalming. Ten pumps from a long needle into Ameer’s shoulder. Another 10 into his chest. After an hour, Zamora wrapped the body in a shroud which he covered in a green cloak and sprinkled it with dried flowers, re-creating a Muslim rite that an imam had once shown him. Then he shut the lid on the coffin and he and his son took off their hazmat suits. The two were covered in sweat. In the adjoining room sat stacks of case files, people whose bodies Zamora was still trying to locate after their relatives had gotten in touch with him. There was an Algerian man, born in 1986. There were two Moroccans who had been lost at sea; and a Syrian man, who once had a wife and lived in Aleppo. And there was a ringing from the other room, and with it, another possible lead. “Martín, go get my phone,” Zamora said to his son, taking off his gloves.

The body collector of Spain: When migrants die at sea, he gets them home

Border migrant smuggling continues in Belarus. Local smugglers have said that migrants are being sent to EU via Belarus. The EU has accused Belarus of encouraging migrants from Iraq.

Border migrant smuggling continues in Belarus

In late August, evacuees from Afghanistan began arriving by the busload to the Fort McCoy Army base in the Midwest, carrying little more than cellphones and harrowing tales of their narrow escapes from a country they may never see again. They were greeted by soldiers, assigned rooms in white barracks and advised not to stray into the surrounding forest, lest they get lost.

More than a month later, the remote base, about 170 miles from Milwaukee, is home to 12,600 Afghan evacuees, almost half of them children, now bigger than any city in western Wisconsin’s Monroe County.

The story is much the same on seven other military installations from Texas to New Jersey. Roughly 53,000 Afghans have been living at these bases since the chaotic evacuation from Kabul, the capital, this summer that marked the end of 20 years of war. Although many Americans have turned their attention away from the largest evacuation of war refugees since Vietnam, the operation is very much a work in progress here, overseen by a host of federal agencies and thousands of US&nbsp;troops.

Although an initial group of about 2,600 people — largely former military translators and others who helped allied forces during the war — moved quickly into American communities, the vast majority remain stranded on these sprawling military way stations, uncertain of when they will be able to start the new American lives they were expecting. An additional 14,000 people are still on bases abroad, waiting for transfer to the United States.

“We built a city to house almost 13,000 guests,” said Col. Jen McDonough, deputy commander for sustainment at Fort McCoy, where about 1,600 service members are tasked with ensuring the massive operation runs smoothly.

On a recent warm fall day here, refugees played a pickup game of soccer with soldiers, young children made arts and crafts with volunteers while their mothers studied English in an adjacent classroom, and families at a warehouse rummaged through boxes of donated underwear, shirts and jackets.

Afghan evacuees said they were grateful for the warm reception they have received at the fort, but for many, the long wait has been grueling. None have left the base since arriving, unless they were green card holders or US&nbsp;citizens.

“I have asked many times about the date of departure,’’ said Farwardin Khorasani, 36, who was an interpreter at the US embassy in Kabul. He fled Afghanistan with his wife and two young daughters and hopes to relocate to Sacramento, California. “We are jobless here and have nothing to do.”

US officials say the delays are a result of a measles outbreak, medical checks and a vaccination campaign, as well as the need to complete immigration processing, which involves interviews, biometric exams and applications for work permits. Most bases in the United States are at or near capacity, and Afghan evacuees waiting on bases in the Middle East, Spain and Germany can be flown in only once space opens up.

A shortage of housing also is creating delays. Many families wish to settle where they already have friends or relatives, in places with existing Afghan communities such as California and the Washington, D.C., area. But officials have said that a dearth of affordable apartments could postpone their resettlement. On Thursday, Congress passed a short-term spending bill that included $6.3 billion to relocate and settle Afghan refugees.

Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of the US Northern Command, which oversees the operation at Fort McCoy, said the military was prepared to accommodate arrivals on bases through the spring, giving authorities time to work through the housing shortage.

“We’ve built housing capacity and we are providing our Afghan guests the environment they need,” he said.

One of the first priorities has been to inoculate evacuees against a variety of diseases.

There have been 24 cases of measles, prompting a vaccination campaign against that illness, along with mumps, rubella and polio, an effort that is just winding down. People must wait at least 21 days after those vaccinations before receiving medical clearance to leave the bases.

Almost 85 per cent of all evacuees on bases have received the single-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine against the coronavirus, and the rate of infection among the population is less than 1 per cent, VanHerck said.

The bases also have seen crime, not unlike densely packed cities.

Two Afghan evacuees are in federal custody; one has been charged with engaging in a sexual act with a minor and another was charged with assaulting his spouse, both at Fort McCoy.

The FBI is investigating an assault on a female service member by Afghan men at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. And in Quantico, Virginia, a military police officer on guard duty reported that he had observed a 24-year-old Afghan sexually assaulting a 3-year-old Afghan girl, according to a criminal complaint.

VanHerck said the military would “continue taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety” of both those working on the base and the Afghan evacuees. He said many reports to law enforcement were made by Afghans.

The residents seen on a tightly controlled media tour of the base represented a cross-section of Afghan society.

Among them was a group of 148 young women who hoped to finish their university education in the United States, and the principal of an international school. There was an Afghan air force pilot who had learned to fly UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in Alabama and Texas.

There were men and women from remote provinces, including a cook who had prepared food for soldiers in a far-flung outpost. Some people wore traditional Afghan attire. Others donned jeans and T-shirts. About half knew some English, but others would need to begin learning to read and write once they resettled in the United States, officials said.

Farzana Mohammadi, a member of the Afghan women’s Paralympic basketball team who has been unable to walk since she had polio as a child, said she hoped to keep playing sports and to study psychology in Seattle.

Though optimistic about her own future, “I am only thinking all the time about my parents and younger sister,” said Mohammadi, 24, whose family was still in Kabul.

About 50 to 60 people live in each two-story barracks, where single beds sit side by side. For privacy, families have improvised partitions using sheets.

There are robust security details outside the living quarters, which are clustered into “communities,” each with a center where evacuees can get personal hygiene items or learn about activities, such as town halls with military leadership.

“Grab and go” cafes offering tea, coffee and light snacks are bustling. But the eight self-service laundromats have been underutilized: Most Afghans have preferred to wash their clothing by hand and hang it out to dry on lines, which the military quickly erected.

An imam certifies that meals served at four cafeterias are halal, but the lines to buy pizza at the base exchange often stretch outside.

After weeks of being bottled up together with no timeline for leaving, there have been tensions among the residents. Fights often break out in the line to enter the cafeteria, and there are occasional arguments between people from different tribes.

Several young, single women said they were verbally harassed by Afghan men because they were on the base alone.

“We were told, ‘How are you here without your male family member? We won’t tolerate this,’” said Nilab Ibrahimy, 23, who made it to the Kabul airport in a convoy of seven buses carrying the 148 students from the Asian University for Women, based in Bangladesh, where they had all been studying before the coronavirus outbreak stranded them in Kabul.

Ibrahimy took the issue to the US military leadership, and the entire group of students was moved to another barracks housing mainly single women. There have been no problems since, she and others said.

Passing the time has been another challenge. “When we arrived here, we were sitting in our rooms doing nothing,” said Sepehra Azami, 25, who was studying economics before she fled.

Azami, Ibrahimy and another friend, Batool Bahnam, asked some mothers whether they were interested in having their children learn basic conversational English: What is your name? How are you? Thank you.

They were. Soon, adults began approaching the young women about lessons, too, and classes were added for women and men. “The demand is really high,” Azami said. “Families are struggling with language barriers.”

Mounds of clothing have been donated to the refugees, but it took until last week for every evacuee to receive items.

On Thursday, it was finally the turn of a 12-year-old boy named Nayatola. Dressed in a brown kurta pajama, he searched for clothes in his size. He ended up with an oversize white pullover. On his feet were the adult-size plastic slippers his father had brought from Afghanistan — Nayatola had no other shoes.

As the day wore on, children could be seen outside doodling with chalk. When the visitors passed by, they called out. “Hello, how are you?” a few of them shouted, trying out their new English phrases.

Abdulhadi Pageman, the former Afghan air force pilot, looked toward the warehouse where families were getting clothes. “These children are the future of the United States,” he said, talking about the children on the base. “They will be scientists, engineers. You just have to be patient.”

In late August, evacuees from Afghanistan began arriving by the busload to the Fort McCoy Army base in the Midwest, carrying little more than cellphones and harrowing tales of their narrow escapes from a country they may never see again.

In late August, evacuees from Afghanistan began arriving by the busload to the Fort McCoy Army base in the Midwest, carrying little more than cellphones and harrowing tales of their narrow escapes from a country they may never see again. They were greeted by soldiers, assigned rooms in white barracks and advised not to stray into the surrounding forest, lest they get lost. More than a month later, the remote base, about 170 miles from Milwaukee, is home to 12,600 Afghan evacuees, almost half of them children, now bigger than any city in western Wisconsin’s Monroe County. The story is much the same on seven other military installations from Texas to New Jersey. Roughly 53,000 Afghans have been living at these bases since the chaotic evacuation from Kabul, the capital, this summer that marked the end of 20 years of war. Although many Americans have turned their attention away from the largest evacuation of war refugees since Vietnam, the operation is very much a work in progress here, overseen by a host of federal agencies and thousands of US troops. Although an initial group of about 2,600 people — largely former military translators and others who helped allied forces during the war — moved quickly into American communities, the vast majority remain stranded on these sprawling military way stations, uncertain of when they will be able to start the new American lives they were expecting. An additional 14,000 people are still on bases abroad, waiting for transfer to the United States. “We built a city to house almost 13,000 guests,” said Col. Jen McDonough, deputy commander for sustainment at Fort McCoy, where about 1,600 service members are tasked with ensuring the massive operation runs smoothly. On a recent warm fall day here, refugees played a pickup game of soccer with soldiers, young children made arts and crafts with volunteers while their mothers studied English in an adjacent classroom, and families at a warehouse rummaged through boxes of donated underwear, shirts and jackets. Afghan evacuees said they were grateful for the warm reception they have received at the fort, but for many, the long wait has been grueling. None have left the base since arriving, unless they were green card holders or US citizens. “I have asked many times about the date of departure,’’ said Farwardin Khorasani, 36, who was an interpreter at the US embassy in Kabul. He fled Afghanistan with his wife and two young daughters and hopes to relocate to Sacramento, California. “We are jobless here and have nothing to do.” US officials say the delays are a result of a measles outbreak, medical checks and a vaccination campaign, as well as the need to complete immigration processing, which involves interviews, biometric exams and applications for work permits. Most bases in the United States are at or near capacity, and Afghan evacuees waiting on bases in the Middle East, Spain and Germany can be flown in only once space opens up. A shortage of housing also is creating delays. Many families wish to settle where they already have friends or relatives, in places with existing Afghan communities such as California and the Washington, D.C., area. But officials have said that a dearth of affordable apartments could postpone their resettlement. On Thursday, Congress passed a short-term spending bill that included $6.3 billion to relocate and settle Afghan refugees. Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of the US Northern Command, which oversees the operation at Fort McCoy, said the military was prepared to accommodate arrivals on bases through the spring, giving authorities time to work through the housing shortage. “We’ve built housing capacity and we are providing our Afghan guests the environment they need,” he said. One of the first priorities has been to inoculate evacuees against a variety of diseases. There have been 24 cases of measles, prompting a vaccination campaign against that illness, along with mumps, rubella and polio, an effort that is just winding down. People must wait at least 21 days after those vaccinations before receiving medical clearance to leave the bases. Almost 85 per cent of all evacuees on bases have received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the coronavirus, and the rate of infection among the population is less than 1 per cent, VanHerck said. The bases also have seen crime, not unlike densely packed cities. Two Afghan evacuees are in federal custody; one has been charged with engaging in a sexual act with a minor and another was charged with assaulting his spouse, both at Fort McCoy. The FBI is investigating an assault on a female service member by Afghan men at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. And in Quantico, Virginia, a military police officer on guard duty reported that he had observed a 24-year-old Afghan sexually assaulting a 3-year-old Afghan girl, according to a criminal complaint. VanHerck said the military would “continue taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety” of both those working on the base and the Afghan evacuees. He said many reports to law enforcement were made by Afghans. The residents seen on a tightly controlled media tour of the base represented a cross-section of Afghan society. Among them was a group of 148 young women who hoped to finish their university education in the United States, and the principal of an international school. There was an Afghan air force pilot who had learned to fly UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in Alabama and Texas. There were men and women from remote provinces, including a cook who had prepared food for soldiers in a far-flung outpost. Some people wore traditional Afghan attire. Others donned jeans and T-shirts. About half knew some English, but others would need to begin learning to read and write once they resettled in the United States, officials said. Farzana Mohammadi, a member of the Afghan women’s Paralympic basketball team who has been unable to walk since she had polio as a child, said she hoped to keep playing sports and to study psychology in Seattle. Though optimistic about her own future, “I am only thinking all the time about my parents and younger sister,” said Mohammadi, 24, whose family was still in Kabul. About 50 to 60 people live in each two-story barracks, where single beds sit side by side. For privacy, families have improvised partitions using sheets. There are robust security details outside the living quarters, which are clustered into “communities,” each with a center where evacuees can get personal hygiene items or learn about activities, such as town halls with military leadership. “Grab and go” cafes offering tea, coffee and light snacks are bustling. But the eight self-service laundromats have been underutilized: Most Afghans have preferred to wash their clothing by hand and hang it out to dry on lines, which the military quickly erected. An imam certifies that meals served at four cafeterias are halal, but the lines to buy pizza at the base exchange often stretch outside. After weeks of being bottled up together with no timeline for leaving, there have been tensions among the residents. Fights often break out in the line to enter the cafeteria, and there are occasional arguments between people from different tribes. Several young, single women said they were verbally harassed by Afghan men because they were on the base alone. “We were told, ‘How are you here without your male family member? We won’t tolerate this,’” said Nilab Ibrahimy, 23, who made it to the Kabul airport in a convoy of seven buses carrying the 148 students from the Asian University for Women, based in Bangladesh, where they had all been studying before the coronavirus outbreak stranded them in Kabul. Ibrahimy took the issue to the US military leadership, and the entire group of students was moved to another barracks housing mainly single women. There have been no problems since, she and others said. Passing the time has been another challenge. “When we arrived here, we were sitting in our rooms doing nothing,” said Sepehra Azami, 25, who was studying economics before she fled. Azami, Ibrahimy and another friend, Batool Bahnam, asked some mothers whether they were interested in having their children learn basic conversational English: What is your name? How are you? Thank you. They were. Soon, adults began approaching the young women about lessons, too, and classes were added for women and men. “The demand is really high,” Azami said. “Families are struggling with language barriers.” Mounds of clothing have been donated to the refugees, but it took until last week for every evacuee to receive items. On Thursday, it was finally the turn of a 12-year-old boy named Nayatola. Dressed in a brown kurta pajama, he searched for clothes in his size. He ended up with an oversize white pullover. On his feet were the adult-size plastic slippers his father had brought from Afghanistan — Nayatola had no other shoes. As the day wore on, children could be seen outside doodling with chalk. When the visitors passed by, they called out. “Hello, how are you?” a few of them shouted, trying out their new English phrases. Abdulhadi Pageman, the former Afghan air force pilot, looked toward the warehouse where families were getting clothes. “These children are the future of the United States,” he said, talking about the children on the base. “They will be scientists, engineers. You just have to be patient.”

Military bases turn into small cities as Afghans wait months for homes in US

More Haitian migrants could be released into the United States in coming days, US Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday, after a days-long border crisis which became a major headache for Joe Biden's administration.

Officials said on Friday that some 12,400 migrants, most of them from Haiti, were released into the United States in recent days, part of a flow of thousands crossing the Rio Grande river from Mexico near Del Rio, Texas.

They will have their cases heard by an immigration judge to determine whether or not they will be allowed to stay.

The migrant number could yet rise, Mayorkas said in a series of appearances on US talk shows.

"It could be even higher," he told Fox News Sunday.

The situation facing the migrants on the border and in Del Rio in particular has provoked major backlash for the Biden administration.

Since September 9 some 30,000 migrants, most of them Haitian, have turned up in the town.

The number of people, along with controversial images of US border patrol on horseback appearing to threaten the migrants and the decision to deport thousands back to Haiti, ignited widespread fury.

On Friday officials said that the migrants had been dispersed.

In addition to the 12,400 who are being allowed to plead their case before a US judge, around 2,000 people were returned to Haiti on expulsion flights, and an estimated 8,000 have voluntarily returned to Mexico.

Another 5,000 are being processed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine if they will be subject to removal proceedings, officials said Friday. It is this 5,000 who could add to the numbers already entering the United States.&nbsp;

Republicans have seized on the situation to batter the Democratic president, with Senator Tim Scott accusing Biden of failing to secure the border.

"I think President Biden and his administration owns the crisis that they've created," Scott told CBS on Sunday.

Mayorkas, seeking to defuse the crisis, said DHS was following the law to determine whether to deport migrants who cross the border illegally.

But in another interview he deplored those same laws.

"We are working in a completely broken system," he told NBC Sunday. "I've never heard anyone say that the laws in immigration are well structured."

More Haitian migrants could be released into the United States in coming days, US Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday, after a days-long border crisis which became a major headache for Joe Biden's administration.

More Haitian migrants could be released into the United States in coming days, US Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday, after a days-long border crisis which became a major headache for Joe Biden's administration. Officials said on Friday that some 12,400 migrants, most of them from Haiti, were released into the United States in recent days, part of a flow of thousands crossing the Rio Grande river from Mexico near Del Rio, Texas. They will have their cases heard by an immigration judge to determine whether or not they will be allowed to stay. The migrant number could yet rise, Mayorkas said in a series of appearances on US talk shows. "It could be even higher," he told Fox News Sunday. The situation facing the migrants on the border and in Del Rio in particular has provoked major backlash for the Biden administration. Since September 9 some 30,000 migrants, most of them Haitian, have turned up in the town. The number of people, along with controversial images of US border patrol on horseback appearing to threaten the migrants and the decision to deport thousands back to Haiti, ignited widespread fury. On Friday officials said that the migrants had been dispersed. In addition to the 12,400 who are being allowed to plead their case before a US judge, around 2,000 people were returned to Haiti on expulsion flights, and an estimated 8,000 have voluntarily returned to Mexico. Another 5,000 are being processed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine if they will be subject to removal proceedings, officials said Friday. It is this 5,000 who could add to the numbers already entering the United States. Republicans have seized on the situation to batter the Democratic president, with Senator Tim Scott accusing Biden of failing to secure the border. "I think President Biden and his administration owns the crisis that they've created," Scott told CBS on Sunday. Mayorkas, seeking to defuse the crisis, said DHS was following the law to determine whether to deport migrants who cross the border illegally. But in another interview he deplored those same laws. "We are working in a completely broken system," he told NBC Sunday. "I've never heard anyone say that the laws in immigration are well structured."

US expects to release more Haitian migrants into country

An impromptu border camp that roiled the US&nbsp;government was cleared of thousands of Haitian migrants by Friday, with most remaining in the United States for now and others expelled on deportation flights or returned to Mexico.

Reuters witnesses said the jumble of makeshift shelters and tents had all but disappeared from Del Rio, Texas, with workers removing the last debris along the border with Mexico. State troopers lined the banks of the Rio Grande to discourage new crossings.

US&nbsp;Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said nearly 30,000 migrants had been encountered in Del Rio in the past two weeks and that by morning there were none left in the camp beneath its international bridge.

Mayorkas vowed a swift probe into "horrifying" images that had sparked outrage this week which showed a border guard on horseback using his reins to contain Haitian migrants.

"We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation's ongoing battle against systemic racism," he told a news conference.

More than 12,000 migrants will have a chance to make their case for protection before US&nbsp;immigration judges, an estimated 8,000 voluntarily returned to Mexico, and 2,000 were expelled to Haiti. The fate of others detained is to be decided.

Seeking to balance outrage about treatment of the migrants, Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano praised agents for trying to provide food and medical care, and said there were no fatalities.

As well as the Biden administration's decision to send migrants back to chronic instability convulsing Haiti, Mexico has sought to bus and fly Haitians to its southern states.

On Friday, Reuters reported that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had formally asked Brazil to receive some of the Haitians from the camp, according to two sources with knowledge of the request.

Many of the Haitians arriving at the U.S. border had previously lived in Brazil and Chile, while others have transited through the South American countries.

U.S. President Joe Biden has faced criticism over the expulsions, including in a sternly worded resignation letter from the U.S. Special Envoy to Haiti, Daniel Foote, who described the Caribbean nation as a collapsed state.

Washington in May extended temporary protection from deportation to Haitians in the United States, citing political crisis, rights abuses, crime and lack of access to food, water and healthcare in the deeply impoverished country.

Since then, Haiti's president has been assassinated and it suffered a destructive earthquake.

But the Biden government has kept up deportations, mindful that letting in more Haitians may encourage others to try.

At least five more flights from the U.S. border were scheduled on Friday, flight tracking website FlightAware showed.

Thousands more Haitians are moving through Central America, with others among around 16,000 awaiting boats into the jungles of the Darien Gap in Panama, a bottleneck on the journey north.

Not all migrant traffic is U.S.-bound. On Friday, around 100 mostly Venezuelan migrants were moving south into Chile's northern border in a bid to make a fresh start there.

PUSHED SOUTH

Haitians who crossed back to Mexico in recent days were met by Mexican officials who urged them to return to Mexico's southern border with Guatemala to request asylum here.

"We're not taking them out of the country," Francisco Garduno, head of the Mexican government's National Migration Institute (INM), told Reuters. "We're bringing them away from the border so there are no hygiene and overcrowding problems."

Mexico's Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) is overwhelmed and scheduling appointments months away.

Official data show Haitians are less likely to have asylum claims approved in Mexico compared with many nationalities.

Last year, of all asylum claims that were formally resolved, only 22% of Haitian cases won approval, compared with 98% for Venezuelans, 85% of Hondurans, 83% of Salvadorans and 44% of Cubans. So far this year, the Haitian number is up to 31%.

Willy Jean, who spent two fruitless months in the Mexican city of Tapachula, said if Mexico really wanted to help, it should allow them to make their applications elsewhere.

"Tapachula's really tough, really small, there's lots of people," he told an INM agent trying to persuade him to go south. "There's no work, there's nothing."

An impromptu border camp that roiled the US government was cleared of thousands of Haitian migrants by Friday, with most remaining in the United States for now and others expelled on deportation flights or returned to Mexico.

An impromptu border camp that roiled the US government was cleared of thousands of Haitian migrants by Friday, with most remaining in the United States for now and others expelled on deportation flights or returned to Mexico. Reuters witnesses said the jumble of makeshift shelters and tents had all but disappeared from Del Rio, Texas, with workers removing the last debris along the border with Mexico. State troopers lined the banks of the Rio Grande to discourage new crossings. US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said nearly 30,000 migrants had been encountered in Del Rio in the past two weeks and that by morning there were none left in the camp beneath its international bridge. Mayorkas vowed a swift probe into "horrifying" images that had sparked outrage this week which showed a border guard on horseback using his reins to contain Haitian migrants. "We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation's ongoing battle against systemic racism," he told a news conference. More than 12,000 migrants will have a chance to make their case for protection before US immigration judges, an estimated 8,000 voluntarily returned to Mexico, and 2,000 were expelled to Haiti. The fate of others detained is to be decided. Seeking to balance outrage about treatment of the migrants, Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano praised agents for trying to provide food and medical care, and said there were no fatalities. As well as the Biden administration's decision to send migrants back to chronic instability convulsing Haiti, Mexico has sought to bus and fly Haitians to its southern states. On Friday, Reuters reported that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had formally asked Brazil to receive some of the Haitians from the camp, according to two sources with knowledge of the request. Many of the Haitians arriving at the U.S. border had previously lived in Brazil and Chile, while others have transited through the South American countries. U.S. President Joe Biden has faced criticism over the expulsions, including in a sternly worded resignation letter from the U.S. Special Envoy to Haiti, Daniel Foote, who described the Caribbean nation as a collapsed state. Washington in May extended temporary protection from deportation to Haitians in the United States, citing political crisis, rights abuses, crime and lack of access to food, water and healthcare in the deeply impoverished country. Since then, Haiti's president has been assassinated and it suffered a destructive earthquake. But the Biden government has kept up deportations, mindful that letting in more Haitians may encourage others to try. At least five more flights from the U.S. border were scheduled on Friday, flight tracking website FlightAware showed. Thousands more Haitians are moving through Central America, with others among around 16,000 awaiting boats into the jungles of the Darien Gap in Panama, a bottleneck on the journey north. Not all migrant traffic is U.S.-bound. On Friday, around 100 mostly Venezuelan migrants were moving south into Chile's northern border in a bid to make a fresh start there. PUSHED SOUTH Haitians who crossed back to Mexico in recent days were met by Mexican officials who urged them to return to Mexico's southern border with Guatemala to request asylum here. "We're not taking them out of the country," Francisco Garduno, head of the Mexican government's National Migration Institute (INM), told Reuters. "We're bringing them away from the border so there are no hygiene and overcrowding problems." Mexico's Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) is overwhelmed and scheduling appointments months away. Official data show Haitians are less likely to have asylum claims approved in Mexico compared with many nationalities. Last year, of all asylum claims that were formally resolved, only 22% of Haitian cases won approval, compared with 98% for Venezuelans, 85% of Hondurans, 83% of Salvadorans and 44% of Cubans. So far this year, the Haitian number is up to 31%. Willy Jean, who spent two fruitless months in the Mexican city of Tapachula, said if Mexico really wanted to help, it should allow them to make their applications elsewhere. "Tapachula's really tough, really small, there's lots of people," he told an INM agent trying to persuade him to go south. "There's no work, there's nothing."

US border camp cleared of Haitians, thousands more on the move

US border troops beat up migrants with whips near the Texas border. The pictures surfaced days before Biden's human rights pitch at the UNGA. Who will stand up to America's rights abuses? Palki Sharma tells you.

Gravitas US Edition: US border patrol whips helpless migrants

Mexico and the United States were on Wednesday preparing to fly more Haitian migrants away from chaotic U.S.-Mexico border camps, as pressure mounted on U.S. President Joe Biden to stop expulsions of Haitians to their poor, disaster-hit homeland. Watch this report for more details.

Migrants make their way to Mexico from US

The US. is flying Haitians camped in a Texas border town back to their homeland and blocking others from crossing the border from Mexico in a massive show of force that signals the beginning of what could be one of America’s swiftest, large-scale expulsions of migrants or refugees in decades. Watch this report for more details.

US launches mass expulsion of Haitians migrant from Texas

Thousands of migrants, mainly fleeing Haiti, are currently being held under a bridge at Del Rio near the US-Mexico border as immigration facilities in the area have reached capacity.

US immigration: Thousands gather under a bridge at US-Mexico border

Thousands of Haitian migrants have assembled under and around a bridge in a small Texas border town, presenting the Biden administration with a fresh and immediate challenge as it tries to manage large numbers of asylum-seekers who have been reaching U.S. soil.

More than 10,000 undocumented migrants reach US from Haiti

Contributing to a growing humanitarian crisis, some 10,000 migrants have gathered under a US-Mexico border bridge over recent days. The bridge connects Del Rio in Texas to Mexico's Ciudad Acuña and the temporary camp there has grown rapidly in recent days.

Contributing to a growing humanitarian crisis, some 10,000 migrants have gathered under a US-Mexico border bridge over recent days. The bridge connects Del Rio in Texas to Mexico's Ciudad Acuña and the temporary camp there has grown rapidly in recent days. The Haitian migrants, who have crossed the Rio Grande, are sleeping under the bridge in squalid conditions. Earlier this year, it was reported that the number of migrants who were detained at the US-Mexico border in July exceeded 200,000 for the first time in 21 years. Also, just last month, the authorities arrested more than 195,000 migrants at the Mexican border, according to government data released. This summer's numbers represent a significant increase from the 51,000 arrested in August 2019. Also read | 'We apologize': US admits Kabul airstrike killed 10 civilians, not ISIS-K militants The migrants are said to be mostly Haitians, with some Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans also present. According to reports by the Washington Post, they appear to be part of a larger wave of Haitians heading north, many of whom arrived in Brazil and other South American nations after the 2010 earthquake. As per Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano, more than 10,500 migrants were under the Del Rio International Bridge as of Thursday evening. In a statement issued by the border patrol, they said that it was increasing staffing in Del Rio to facilitate a "safe, humane and orderly process". "To prevent injuries from heat-related illness, the shaded area underneath Del Rio International Bridge is serving as a temporary staging site while migrants wait to be taken into USBP (US Border Patrol) custody," it added.

Thousands gather under bridge at US-Mexico border amid growing migrant crisis

Since the beginning of this year, about 4000 migrants crossed the English channel. These illegal migrants rely on smugglers to help them sneak onto British soil.

4000 Migrants cross English channel

Government claims "there are still too many people, especially with non-Western backgrounds, who do not have a job to get up to" in the morning.

Because 'there are too many, especially from non-Western backgrounds, who do not have a job,' Denmark has proposed making migrants work 37 hours a week to obtain welfare benefits.

The minority Social Democratic government's proposal would force migrants on benefits for at least three years to find work. This is a typically left-wing administration that has adopted right-wing anti-immigration measures.

It said that the initiative was important since many women of foreign heritage, particularly those from the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey, do not work.&nbsp;

The initiative would begin with those who already knew some Danish, and local government would provide vocational training.

The proposal has yet to be put to a vote in the 179-seat parliament.

Despite the fact that the Social Democrats do not have a majority, they are likely to receive backing from center-right legislators in order to approve the bill.&nbsp;

The proposal, according to Mirka Mozer, the president of a Copenhagen-based organisation that assists immigrant women in finding work, does not appear to be ambitious enough.

'We have a lot of women who are eager to take work, including 37-hour jobs,' Mozar said, adding that additional 37-hour positions are needed.

Her organisation, the Immigrant Women's Centre, registered around 13,000 persons from 57 different countries in 2018.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Government claims "there are still too many people, especially with non-Western backgrounds, who do not have a job to get up to" in the morning. Because 'there are too many, especially from non-Western backgrounds, who do not have a job,' Denmark has proposed making migrants work 37 hours a week to obtain welfare benefits.

Government claims "there are still too many people, especially with non-Western backgrounds, who do not have a job to get up to" in the morning. Because 'there are too many, especially from non-Western backgrounds, who do not have a job,' Denmark has proposed making migrants work 37 hours a week to obtain welfare benefits. The minority Social Democratic government's proposal would force migrants on benefits for at least three years to find work. This is a typically left-wing administration that has adopted right-wing anti-immigration measures. It said that the initiative was important since many women of foreign heritage, particularly those from the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey, do not work. The initiative would begin with those who already knew some Danish, and local government would provide vocational training. The proposal has yet to be put to a vote in the 179-seat parliament. Despite the fact that the Social Democrats do not have a majority, they are likely to receive backing from center-right legislators in order to approve the bill. The proposal, according to Mirka Mozer, the president of a Copenhagen-based organisation that assists immigrant women in finding work, does not appear to be ambitious enough. 'We have a lot of women who are eager to take work, including 37-hour jobs,' Mozar said, adding that additional 37-hour positions are needed. Her organisation, the Immigrant Women's Centre, registered around 13,000 persons from 57 different countries in 2018. (With inputs from agencies)

Denmark proposes making migrants work 37 hours a week to earn benefits

Afghans have been forced to flee the country due to Taliban's takeover. They hope to get evacuated and safely reach their destinations.

Afghans face tough situations while trying to flee the country

An "unprecedented"&nbsp;number&nbsp;of&nbsp;migrants&nbsp;were intercepted illegally crossing the US-Mexico&nbsp;border&nbsp;in July, the head of America's Homeland Security department has said.

Border&nbsp;guards recorded more than 200,000 instances of people attempting to enter the United States during the month, according to US&nbsp;Customs&nbsp;and&nbsp;Border&nbsp;Protection.

"We are encountering an&nbsp;unprecedented&nbsp;number&nbsp;of&nbsp;migrants&nbsp;in between the ports of entry at our southern&nbsp;border," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a press conference in Texas Thursday.

"The situation at the&nbsp;border&nbsp;is one of the toughest challenges we face. It is complicated, changing and involves vulnerable people at a time of a global pandemic."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-covid-19-china-locks-citizens-behind-iron-bars-as-delta-variant-surge-405157">Also read |&nbsp;Watch | COVID-19: China locks citizens behind iron bars as Delta variant surge</a>

Migrant arrivals to the United States declined markedly during the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic but began to pick up later in 2020, before surging since President Joe Biden took office.

The latest figures demonstrate a deviation from seasonal trends. Punishingly hot summer weather usually sees the&nbsp;number&nbsp;of&nbsp;migrants&nbsp;attempting to&nbsp;cross&nbsp;decrease.

Border&nbsp;authorities also said the&nbsp;number&nbsp;of unaccompanied children increased 24 percent in July, to just under 19,000, from the previous month.

A significant&nbsp;number&nbsp;of expulsions during the pandemic has also contributed to "a larger-than-usual&nbsp;number&nbsp;of&nbsp;migrants&nbsp;making multiple&nbsp;border&nbsp;crossing attempts."

An "unprecedented" number of migrants were intercepted illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in July, the head of America's Homeland Security department has said.

An "unprecedented" number of migrants were intercepted illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in July, the head of America's Homeland Security department has said. Border guards recorded more than 200,000 instances of people attempting to enter the United States during the month, according to US Customs and Border Protection. "We are encountering an unprecedented number of migrants in between the ports of entry at our southern border," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a press conference in Texas Thursday. "The situation at the border is one of the toughest challenges we face. It is complicated, changing and involves vulnerable people at a time of a global pandemic." Also read | Watch | COVID-19: China locks citizens behind iron bars as Delta variant surge Migrant arrivals to the United States declined markedly during the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic but began to pick up later in 2020, before surging since President Joe Biden took office. The latest figures demonstrate a deviation from seasonal trends. Punishingly hot summer weather usually sees the number of migrants attempting to cross decrease. Border authorities also said the number of unaccompanied children increased 24 percent in July, to just under 19,000, from the previous month. A significant number of expulsions during the pandemic has also contributed to "a larger-than-usual number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts."

'Unprecedented' number of migrants cross Mexico border: US govt

Germany&nbsp;and the Netherlands said Wednesday they have stopped forced repatriations of Afghan migrants because of deteriorating security in&nbsp;Afghanistan, as the Taliban pressed on with its rapid advance in the country's north.

"Due to current developments in the security situation, the interior minister has decided to suspend deportations to&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;for the time being,"&nbsp;Germany's interior ministry spokesman Steve Alter wrote on Twitter.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/could-the-taliban-take-over-afghanistan-heres-what-we-know-404730" hreflang="en">Could the Taliban take over Afghanistan? Here’s what we know</a>

Separately in The Hague, Dutch State Secretary for Justice and Security Ankie Broekers-Knol announced a "moratorium on (deportation) decisions and departures."

The halt "will apply for six months and will apply to foreign nationals of Afghan nationality," she wrote in a letter to the Dutch parliament.

Wednesday's move by the Germans and Dutch marked a sharp U-turn from their previous position.

Officials had said as late as Tuesday that both governments had joined their counterparts in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Greece to write to the EU's executive arm saying they should be allowed to press on with expulsions of Afghan migrants if their asylum bids fail.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-wants-afghanistans-neighbours-not-to-recognise-govt-imposed-by-force-as-taliban-capture-9th-provincial-capital-404659" hreflang="en">US wants Afghanistan's neighbours not to recognise govt imposed by force as Taliban capture 9th provincial capital</a>

Afghanistan&nbsp;urged the EU in July to cease forced deportations of Afghan migrants for three months as security forces battle the Taliban offensive ahead of the full US military pullout from&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;on August 31.

"We are now complying with this request, which I consider to be the right thing to do,"&nbsp;Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas said of Kabul's call.

As a deportation flight had to be stopped in recent days because of fighting in Kabul close to the airport, Maas said a decision had to be quickly made on whether to resume the flight.

Austria maintains expulsions&nbsp;

Neighbouring Austria however said it would press on with expulsions to&nbsp;Afghanistan.&nbsp;

"Austria is keeping to its plans for deportations. A de facto suspension of deportations is currently not up for discussion," a spokesman for the interior ministry told AFP.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-capture-another-provincial-capital-several-afghan-soldiers-surrender-near-kunduz-404619" hreflang="en">Taliban capture another provincial capital, several Afghan soldiers surrender near Kunduz</a>

The Taliban have in recent days made huge advances in the north, capturing territory including provincial capital Kunduz -- where German soldiers had been deployed for a decade until the end of June.

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had voiced disappointment at the developments.

"The reports from Kunduz and from all over&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;are bitter and hurt a lot," she wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Northern&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;has long been considered an anti-Taliban stronghold that saw some of the stiffest resistance to militant rule in the 1990s.&nbsp;

Germany and the Netherlands said Wednesday they have stopped forced repatriations of Afghan migrants because of deteriorating security in Afghanistan, as the Taliban pressed on with its rapid advance in the country's north.

Germany and the Netherlands said Wednesday they have stopped forced repatriations of Afghan migrants because of deteriorating security in Afghanistan, as the Taliban pressed on with its rapid advance in the country's north. "Due to current developments in the security situation, the interior minister has decided to suspend deportations to Afghanistan for the time being," Germany's interior ministry spokesman Steve Alter wrote on Twitter. Also read | Could the Taliban take over Afghanistan? Here’s what we know Separately in The Hague, Dutch State Secretary for Justice and Security Ankie Broekers-Knol announced a "moratorium on (deportation) decisions and departures." The halt "will apply for six months and will apply to foreign nationals of Afghan nationality," she wrote in a letter to the Dutch parliament. Wednesday's move by the Germans and Dutch marked a sharp U-turn from their previous position. Officials had said as late as Tuesday that both governments had joined their counterparts in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Greece to write to the EU's executive arm saying they should be allowed to press on with expulsions of Afghan migrants if their asylum bids fail. Also read | US wants Afghanistan's neighbours not to recognise govt imposed by force as Taliban capture 9th provincial capital Afghanistan urged the EU in July to cease forced deportations of Afghan migrants for three months as security forces battle the Taliban offensive ahead of the full US military pullout from Afghanistan on August 31. "We are now complying with this request, which I consider to be the right thing to do," Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas said of Kabul's call. As a deportation flight had to be stopped in recent days because of fighting in Kabul close to the airport, Maas said a decision had to be quickly made on whether to resume the flight. Austria maintains expulsions Neighbouring Austria however said it would press on with expulsions to Afghanistan. "Austria is keeping to its plans for deportations. A de facto suspension of deportations is currently not up for discussion," a spokesman for the interior ministry told AFP. Also read | Taliban capture another provincial capital, several Afghan soldiers surrender near Kunduz The Taliban have in recent days made huge advances in the north, capturing territory including provincial capital Kunduz -- where German soldiers had been deployed for a decade until the end of June. German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had voiced disappointment at the developments. "The reports from Kunduz and from all over Afghanistan are bitter and hurt a lot," she wrote on Twitter on Monday. Northern Afghanistan has long been considered an anti-Taliban stronghold that saw some of the stiffest resistance to militant rule in the 1990s.

Germany, Netherlands halt migrant expulsions to Afghanistan

More than 250 migrants disembarked in Sicily on Saturday from an NGO rescue ship, while another vessel carrying around 550 people was given permission to land on the Italian island.

Both ships had put out urgent appeals for a safe port following days at sea in the central Mediterranean, warning of the deteriorating health of those on board, who include children.

"The #SeaWatch3 (ship) reached the port of Trapani this morning. We are happy to finally have a port of safety," the German organisation Sea Watch International tweeted, saying 257 people were being disembarked.

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The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SeaWatch3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SeaWatch3</a> reached the port of Trapani this morning. We are happy to finally have a port of safety. Before our guests can safely go ashore, all 257 rescued people on board will be tested for COVID-19. <a href="https://t.co/elrI5rHcvD">pic.twitter.com/elrI5rHcvD</a>
— Sea-Watch International (@seawatch_intl) <a href="https://twitter.com/seawatch_intl/status/1423953150390775815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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On Thursday, they had warned of a "critical" situation, with a lack of many medicines and symptoms of dehydration appearing among many of those on board, some of whom had been at sea for a week.

Meanwhile, the crew of another rescue vessel, Ocean Viking, told AFP they had been given permission to disembark their 549 passengers at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on Sunday.

They had earlier warned they were running out of medication, some onboard were suffering from dehydration and others had skin infections.

"What we need is a place of safety to disembark them as soon as possible," crew member and spokeswoman Julia Schaerfermeyer said, adding that 118 minors including 13 children aged under 12 were among those on board.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/german-ngo-sea-watch-rescues-nearly-100-migrants-overnight-in-mediterranean-402107">German NGO Sea-Watch rescues nearly 100 migrants overnight in Mediterranean</a>

The vessel, run by French NGO SOS Mediterranee, rescued 555 people last weekend, although two pregnant women and two others have since been evacuated, alongside two of their relatives.

They were waiting off the east coast of Sicily for permission to disembark. They said requests to Malta were rejected while Tunisia and Libya did not respond.

Schaerfermeyer had appealed to the European Union to help coordinate plans to manage rescue ships in international waters, "to step up in support of the coastal states, and for a predictable disembarkation mechanism to be put in place".

Tens of thousands of people seek to cross the central Mediterranean each year, normally setting off from Libya and aiming for the Italian coast, but it is a deadly journey.

Almost 1,000 people have died on the route so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

More than 250 migrants disembarked in Sicily on Saturday from an NGO rescue ship, while another vessel carrying around 550 people was given permission to land on the Italian island.

More than 250 migrants disembarked in Sicily on Saturday from an NGO rescue ship, while another vessel carrying around 550 people was given permission to land on the Italian island. Both ships had put out urgent appeals for a safe port following days at sea in the central Mediterranean, warning of the deteriorating health of those on board, who include children. "The #SeaWatch3 (ship) reached the port of Trapani this morning. We are happy to finally have a port of safety," the German organisation Sea Watch International tweeted, saying 257 people were being disembarked. The #SeaWatch3 reached the port of Trapani this morning. We are happy to finally have a port of safety. Before our guests can safely go ashore, all 257 rescued people on board will be tested for COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/elrI5rHcvD — Sea-Watch International (@seawatch_intl) August 7, 2021 × On Thursday, they had warned of a "critical" situation, with a lack of many medicines and symptoms of dehydration appearing among many of those on board, some of whom had been at sea for a week. Meanwhile, the crew of another rescue vessel, Ocean Viking, told AFP they had been given permission to disembark their 549 passengers at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on Sunday. They had earlier warned they were running out of medication, some onboard were suffering from dehydration and others had skin infections. "What we need is a place of safety to disembark them as soon as possible," crew member and spokeswoman Julia Schaerfermeyer said, adding that 118 minors including 13 children aged under 12 were among those on board. Also read | German NGO Sea-Watch rescues nearly 100 migrants overnight in Mediterranean The vessel, run by French NGO SOS Mediterranee, rescued 555 people last weekend, although two pregnant women and two others have since been evacuated, alongside two of their relatives. They were waiting off the east coast of Sicily for permission to disembark. They said requests to Malta were rejected while Tunisia and Libya did not respond. Schaerfermeyer had appealed to the European Union to help coordinate plans to manage rescue ships in international waters, "to step up in support of the coastal states, and for a predictable disembarkation mechanism to be put in place". Tens of thousands of people seek to cross the central Mediterranean each year, normally setting off from Libya and aiming for the Italian coast, but it is a deadly journey. Almost 1,000 people have died on the route so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Hundreds of migrants find safe port in Italy

German NGO Sea-Watch said on Friday it had rescued nearly 100 migrants in the Mediterranean overnight, many of whom were injured, some with severe "fuel burns" - chemical burns caused by exposure to gasoline mixed with seawater. 
 
Migrant boat departures from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and other parts of Europe have increased in recent months with better weather. 
 
According to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 1,100 people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have perished this year in the Mediterranean. 
 
Late on Thursday, the vessel Sea-Watch 3 rescued 33 migrants from two boats which had been intercepted by the Libyan coast guard in the search and rescue zone of the Mediterranean assigned to Malta, the NGO said. 
 
Among them were nine unaccompanied minors, of which three were very small children, and a woman who was seven months pregnant. The rescued came from South Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Mali, according to a Reuters witness aboard the Sea-Watch 3. 
 
Many migrants were already on a coast guard ship but jumped into the sea when they saw the NGO vessel approach, according to the witness. All were brought onboard the Sea-Watch 3 by its crew. 
 
In a second operation at dawn on Friday, Sea-Watch 3 rescued over 60 people from an overcrowded wooden boat within the Libyan search and rescue zone. Most of the rescued were Libyans, the Reuters witness said. 
 
Among the migrants being treated for their injuries on board the Sea-Watch 3 on Friday were a father and son who suffered burns after a fire broke out on their boat, while others suffered fuel burns. 
 
"As it is often the case with such boats, many of the people suffered fuel burns, some of them severe," Sea-Watch said in a statement.

German NGO Sea-Watch said on Friday it had rescued nearly 100 migrants in the Mediterranean overnight, many of whom were injured, some with severe "fuel burns" - chemical burns caused by exposure to gasoline mixed with seawater.

German NGO Sea-Watch said on Friday it had rescued nearly 100 migrants in the Mediterranean overnight, many of whom were injured, some with severe "fuel burns" - chemical burns caused by exposure to gasoline mixed with seawater. Migrant boat departures from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and other parts of Europe have increased in recent months with better weather. According to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 1,100 people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have perished this year in the Mediterranean. Late on Thursday, the vessel Sea-Watch 3 rescued 33 migrants from two boats which had been intercepted by the Libyan coast guard in the search and rescue zone of the Mediterranean assigned to Malta, the NGO said. Among them were nine unaccompanied minors, of which three were very small children, and a woman who was seven months pregnant. The rescued came from South Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Mali, according to a Reuters witness aboard the Sea-Watch 3. Many migrants were already on a coast guard ship but jumped into the sea when they saw the NGO vessel approach, according to the witness. All were brought onboard the Sea-Watch 3 by its crew. In a second operation at dawn on Friday, Sea-Watch 3 rescued over 60 people from an overcrowded wooden boat within the Libyan search and rescue zone. Most of the rescued were Libyans, the Reuters witness said. Among the migrants being treated for their injuries on board the Sea-Watch 3 on Friday were a father and son who suffered burns after a fire broke out on their boat, while others suffered fuel burns. "As it is often the case with such boats, many of the people suffered fuel burns, some of them severe," Sea-Watch said in a statement.

German NGO Sea-Watch rescues nearly 100 migrants overnight in Mediterranean

More than 230 migrants crossed the Moroccan border into Spain's&nbsp;Melilla&nbsp;enclave before dawn on Thursday, in one of the largest influxes into this tiny North African territory in recent years.

The incident occurred two months after an unprecedented 10,000 people surged into Spain's other enclave of Ceuta, exacerbating a diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/lack-of-respect-spanish-pm-pedro-sanchez-slams-morocco-over-migrant-crisis-386352">'Lack of respect': Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez slams Morocco over migrant crisis</a>

In a statement, the Spanish government delegation in&nbsp;Melilla&nbsp;said: "a huge influx" of more than 300 migrants had tried to cross the frontier at 6:50 am with 238 of them successfully scaling the fence, all of them men.&nbsp;

It said they used "hooks" to scale the frontier which they managed to do despite the fact the border fence was equipped with "anti-intrusion" measures, without specifying what they were.

Three Guardia Civil police officers suffered "slight injuries" from the hooks used by those crossing the fence, it said.&nbsp;The migrants were taken to a reception centre where they will be quarantined in line with anti-Covid safety procedures.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/migrant-crisis-in-spains-ceuta-migrant-drowns-while-trying-to-enter-ceuta-386524/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Since mid-May, hundreds of migrants have tried to rush the Moroccan border fence into&nbsp;Melilla, with nearly 300 of them making it across.&nbsp;

Thursday's incident raised that number to more than 500 in just over two months.

Where Europe meets Africa&nbsp;

Spain's two tiny enclaves of Ceuta and&nbsp;Melilla&nbsp;have Europe's only land border with Africa, making them a magnet for migrants desperate to escape grinding poverty and hunger.

Over the years, thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the 12-kilometre (7.5-mile) border between&nbsp;Melilla&nbsp;and Morocco, or Ceuta's eight-kilometre border, by climbing the fences, swimming along the coast or hiding in vehicles.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/spain-opens-migrant-camps-in-the-canaries-expecting-fresh-influx-359667">Spain opens migrant camps in the Canaries expecting fresh influx</a>

The two territories are protected by fences fortified with barbed wire, video cameras and watchtowers.

Claimed by Morocco, the two cities have long been a flashpoint in diplomatic relations between Rabat and Madrid, which insists both are integral parts of Spain.

In mid-May, Spain was caught off guard when more than 10,000 people swam or used small inflatable boats to cross into Ceuta territory as the Moroccan border forces looked the other way.

Although most were quickly sent back, there were still more than 2,000 left inside the enclave, among them 1,185 unaccompanied minors, a spokesman for the government delegation in Ceuta told AFP on Thursday.&nbsp;

The influx took place during a diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat over Western Sahara, which has long pushed for independence from Morocco.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/spain-migrant-crisis-spain-witnesses-unprecedented-migration-385837/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Madrid had angered Morocco by allowing the leader of&nbsp;Western Sahara's independence movement into Spain for hospital treatment for a severe case of Covid-19, sparking a tetchy standoff between the two countries.&nbsp;

The unprecedented border breach was widely seen as a punitive move by Rabat.&nbsp;

Although Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali left Spain on June 2, diplomatic relations have remained tense.

More than 230 migrants crossed the Moroccan border into Spain's Melilla enclave before dawn on Thursday, in one of the largest influxes into this tiny North African territory in recent years.

More than 230 migrants crossed the Moroccan border into Spain's Melilla enclave before dawn on Thursday, in one of the largest influxes into this tiny North African territory in recent years. The incident occurred two months after an unprecedented 10,000 people surged into Spain's other enclave of Ceuta, exacerbating a diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat. Also read | 'Lack of respect': Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez slams Morocco over migrant crisis In a statement, the Spanish government delegation in Melilla said: "a huge influx" of more than 300 migrants had tried to cross the frontier at 6:50 am with 238 of them successfully scaling the fence, all of them men. It said they used "hooks" to scale the frontier which they managed to do despite the fact the border fence was equipped with "anti-intrusion" measures, without specifying what they were. Three Guardia Civil police officers suffered "slight injuries" from the hooks used by those crossing the fence, it said. The migrants were taken to a reception centre where they will be quarantined in line with anti-Covid safety procedures. Since mid-May, hundreds of migrants have tried to rush the Moroccan border fence into Melilla, with nearly 300 of them making it across. Thursday's incident raised that number to more than 500 in just over two months. Where Europe meets Africa Spain's two tiny enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla have Europe's only land border with Africa, making them a magnet for migrants desperate to escape grinding poverty and hunger. Over the years, thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the 12-kilometre (7.5-mile) border between Melilla and Morocco, or Ceuta's eight-kilometre border, by climbing the fences, swimming along the coast or hiding in vehicles. Also read | Spain opens migrant camps in the Canaries expecting fresh influx The two territories are protected by fences fortified with barbed wire, video cameras and watchtowers. Claimed by Morocco, the two cities have long been a flashpoint in diplomatic relations between Rabat and Madrid, which insists both are integral parts of Spain. In mid-May, Spain was caught off guard when more than 10,000 people swam or used small inflatable boats to cross into Ceuta territory as the Moroccan border forces looked the other way. Although most were quickly sent back, there were still more than 2,000 left inside the enclave, among them 1,185 unaccompanied minors, a spokesman for the government delegation in Ceuta told AFP on Thursday. The influx took place during a diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat over Western Sahara, which has long pushed for independence from Morocco. Madrid had angered Morocco by allowing the leader of Western Sahara's independence movement into Spain for hospital treatment for a severe case of Covid-19, sparking a tetchy standoff between the two countries. The unprecedented border breach was widely seen as a punitive move by Rabat. Although Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali left Spain on June 2, diplomatic relations have remained tense.

Over 230 migrants enter Spain's Melilla enclave after scaling the fence

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