Spanish authorities say 67 people have now died after around 60,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco into Ceuta.
Thousand of migrants swam around a border fence to the enclave of Ceuta, a tiny Spanish territory jutting into the Mediterranean from North Africa, in a mass influx has shocked and divided Europe.
Some people drowned and others were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier. Spain announced it was installing a 500-meter-long containment barrier along the breakwater fence into the sea after some 60,000 migrants breached the tiny Spanish territory’s frontier.
Spain’s interior ministry says 53,000 of the roughly 60,000 estimated to have entered have already returned to Morocco after an unprecedented surge at one of the EU’s only land borders with Africa.
On Saturday morning, police from Spain’s Guardia Civil Civil laid a floating barrier on the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main points used by people trying to enter Ceuta.
Some migrants who had managed to swim to Tarajal beach were met by soldiers who escorted them back across the border.
The city, and Melilla, another small Spanish territory further east along the coast, are both home to around 85,000 people and have the European Union’s only land border with Africa.
Spain’s interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez blamed the crossings on “mafias, human traffickers, and people who take advantage of vulnerable people”.
He said: “This was an attack on the territorial integrity of Spain and Ceuta. This cannot be permitted.”
However, he added: “In less than 48 hours, the situation in Ceuta has changed. changed entirely. Normality is returning.”
What happened in Ceuta?
Around 60,000 people entered from Morocco by sea and land in 24 hours, Ceuta’s president Juan Jesús Vivas said. At least 77 people have died attempting the crossing.
Initially, the Spanish national security department had said on its website that more than 49,000 people were estimated to have crossed illegally in 24 hours, citing the interior ministry. The statement was later deleted from the website.
Rachid Sbihi, head of the association that represents Spain’s Guardia Civil (Civil Guard) officers in Ceuta, said the situation was “absolute chaos”. Many of the dead had drowned while others were killed in a stampede, he added.
Videos and images shared online showed crowds swimming or clambering around a security fence that juts out into the sea and marks the border. Large groups are seen walking and running along roads inside Ceuta.
Many of those who made the crossing were young men, but women and children were also in the crowds.
Migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, where they clashed with police.
How have the authorities responded?
Italy said on Friday it is suspending freedom of movement with Spain for one month in response to the crisis.
This was permitted because Italy and Spain have signed up to the EU’s Schengen Agreement, which allows people to travel between the countries by boat or plane without checks.
Italy’s interior ministry said it has also agreed with Paris to strengthen controls along the France-Italian land border to try to prevent any undocumented migrants from crossing.Discussing the decision, Italian Prime Pinister Giorgia Meloni, said it is an “extraordinary measure” that was “adopted to safeguard national security and prevent possible repercussions for our nation”.
She added in post on X: “The measure will be kept in force only for the time necessary, with particular attention to limiting any impact on summer tourist flows.”
Spain and Morocco reinforced the border fence on Friday and appeared to have largely halted mass crossings. On Thursday, Spain deployed military units to bolster police stationed in Ceuta.
At the gates into the enclave, Moroccan authorities deployed water cannon and pushed people back.
Migrants from Morocco walk and swim around the border fence (Photo: Fabian Bimmer/Reuters) Migrants gather on a hilltop close to the site of clashes near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Ceuta border (Photo: Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP)What has Spain’s Prime Minister said?
Speaking from Ceuta on Friday, Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that what happened was “a violation of Spanish territorial sovereignty”.
He condemned the scenes witnessed in the city and vowed that Spain would use all the resources of the state to guarantee its safety.
Sánchez added that Spain was speeding up the repatriation of migrants who had entered “irregularly”.
The socialist politician has been criticised for his government’s policy to give residency and work permits to hundreds of thousands of migrants already living in the country without permission.
However, Sánchez blamed human smugglers for the current crisis, saying that they “deceive so many young people, and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths – whether in the ocean or, as in this case, at Spain’s border in the autonomous city of Ceuta.”
How have other European leaders reacted?
Andy Burnham described events as “a cause for concern”. He told reporters: “We are making contact with the Spanish government, the Spanish authorities, to provide support but also to understand the implications of that situation.”
Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani called for Spain to be suspended from the EU’s internal open border scheme, Schengen.
Although Italy does not share a border with Spain, Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s Prime Minister, said a move to freeze Schengen would be to “to defend our borders and ensure the safety of our citizens”.
Tajani added: “The images coming from Ceuta show how the Madrid government’s decision to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to over 500,000 irregular immigrants is profoundly wrong and encourages human trafficking.”
Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said Tajani’s message was “inappropriate” and he would summon the Italian ambassador to protest.
Spanish soldiers patrol near the border of Ceuta. Spain’s PM termed the mass crossing ‘a violation of Spanish territorial sovereignty’ (Photo: Fabian Bimmer/Reuters) Moroccan security forces use water cannon to disperse the crowds near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain frontier (Photo: Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP)France said it was increasing checks on its border with Spain.
Marine Le Pen, presidential candidate for France’s far-right National Rally, said on X: “In the face of the massive and co-ordinated influx of migrants into Spain – encouraged by the Spanish government – France must immediately strengthen its border controls.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, described the images of the situation in Ceuta as “unacceptable”. She said she has tasked two EU commissioners to work alongside Spain and Morocco and provide support to get the matter under control.
She wrote on X: “We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules. Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.”
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