Moroccan minister links Ceuta crossings to Polisario leader's hospitalisation

Migrants run towards the fence separating Morocco from Spain, after thousands of migrants swam across the border, in Ceuta, Spain, May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco was justified in relaxing controls at the border between it and Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta in view of Madrid's decision to admit a sick Western Sahara independence leader to hospital, a minister in Rabat suggested.

Around 8,000 migrants entered the enclave on Monday and Tuesday by swimming in or climbing over the fence, and Spain deployed troops there to patrol the border.