Thousands of north African migrants have broken into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco. Regional authorities have pleaded with Spain’s socialist government to send in the military, but Madrid has refused.

Groups of migrants began swimming around the border fence separating Ceuta from Morocco earlier this week, but the trickle became a surge on Thursday when a large group overwhelmed border guards and broke through the fence.

The head of Ceuta’s regional government estimated that up to 2,000 people had arrived by midday on Thursday, overcrowding reception centers and creating “a humanitarian and social emergency.” The majority of the arrivals are young men, the Associated Press reported.

Video footage shared on social media showed hordes of migrants cheering as they poured into the Spanish territory by land and sea.

IN CRE I BLE #Ceuta cientos de marroquíes a la carrera tras llegar a nado al espigón del Tarajal#FronteraSur#Haraga#Inmigracionpic.twitter.com/qVA6MwDuxU

Ceuta’s mayor-president, Juan Jesus Vivas, called on the Spanish government to declare a national emergency and deploy police officers and soldiers at the border. The Spanish Interior Ministry, however, said that it does not consider migration to be an emergency.

No es una crisis migratoria en Ceuta, es una declaración de guerra de Marruecos. pic.twitter.com/FaqS2z0u6E

🔴 Miles de inmigrantes ilegales asaltan la frontera y entran en la ciudad autónoma: "Es una invasión sin precedentes".https://t.co/FwIknSSM8ppic.twitter.com/l99I8lH7sI

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – who legalized 500,000 illegal immigrants earlier this year – offered an ambiguous response. “We are mobilizing all necessary resources… and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible,” he wrote on social media. “This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation.”

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