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Spain arrests fairground migrants

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Police in Spain's Ceuta enclave in North Africa have arrested 383 migrants who tried to enter Spain by hiding in fairground attractions.

The migrants - mostly Moroccans - wanted to reach the Spanish mainland in the lorries and fairground rides.

Ceuta and another Spanish enclave - Melilla - have become magnets for African migrants, and now have razor-wire border fences.

Meanwhile, another 71 migrants have reached the Canary Islands by boat.

The Canaries authorities say more than 14,500 migrants have arrived on the Spanish islands so far this year, compared with 4,751 for the whole of last year.

The latest boatload entered the port of La Gomera recently, the Spanish news agency Efe reported.

The influx has put enormous strain on the coastguards, police and rescue workers.

The long and dangerous journey to the Canaries from Mauritania has in recent months become the favored route to the European Union for migrants from Africa.

Spain and Morocco have stepped up joint efforts to prevent immigration by sea across the much shorter Strait of Gibraltar.

The European Union plans to launch maritime patrols around the Canaries and along the West African coast to help limit the flow of migrants.


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