Nearly 69.5 thousand migrants left Ceuta heading towards Morocco

After thousands of people crossed the border of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, Spain has intensified efforts to strengthen its borders in North Africa to prevent further mass crossings.

According to the head of the enclave, approximately 60,000 people crossed the border from Morocco into Ceuta. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported that about 13,000 such people were returned to Morocco on Friday. Furthermore, Madrid estimates indicate that about 8,000 children were among those who arrived.

Video footage published online shows people swimming towards the enclave along the barrier, with some using life vests and swimsuits for this dangerous journey. One of the migrants, Jadid Zakaria, stated: 'We are very happy to be here.' He added that the crossing from the ocean was extremely difficult, and despite attempts by Moroccan police to stop them, they managed to reach the location due to their determination.

Once they reached Spanish territory, many began chanting 'viva Espana' or 'long live Spain.' Ceuta, being a small Spanish possession on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, along with Melilla, another autonomous Spanish city territory on the northern coast of the country, forms the only land border between the European Union (EU) and Africa.

The mass influx into Ceuta has caused shock and division in Europe. France announced increased checks at its border with Spain, while Italy threatened to exclude Spain from the EU's internal open border regime.

Meanwhile, Moroccan authorities deployed trucks with water cannons at the gates of Ceuta and pushed people back. Reuters reported that charred remains of a bus and seven cars were found near the site of clashes with the crowd.

Spanish authorities have stated their intention to deport illegally entered individuals as soon as possible, despite a court ruling that limited the application of special 'border refusal' rules allowing immediate expulsion from the enclave.

People attempting to reach Ceuta usually swim several kilometers from more distant parts of the coast to avoid the heavily fortified border. However, this time they seemed to approach the fence with minimal difficulty. Some first walked along the rocky sea parapet and around its end, while most entered the water and swam around the barrier to reach the beaches on the Spanish side.

Both cities, Ceuta and Melilla, with populations of 85,000 each, periodically face surges in attempted crossings by those seeking to enter Europe. Nevertheless, the scale of the influx on Thursday was unprecedented, marking the largest arrival in Ceuta since May 2021, when thousands of people entered the enclave amid a diplomatic dispute between Spain and Morocco over Western Sahara.

It is unclear what caused the new wave of attempted crossings. Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, stated on Friday that this surge could be partly due to a decision by the Spanish Supreme Court made earlier this month, which stipulated that people intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be returned under simplified rules.

Jamila El Abboudi, an activist from the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), told Le Monde that 'the court decision prompted migrants to head to Ceuta by sea.' Other commentators point to Morocco's anger over the visit of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Algiers, Spain's largest gas supplier.

On the Moroccan side of the border, thousands of people flooded into the town of Fnideq overnight, despite enhanced security measures that prevented most crossing attempts. Although the crossing appeared blocked, groups moved along the coast searching for routes around the fence. Some prepared to swim. Brahim, 32, who gave only his name, told Reuters that he traveled from Tangier hoping to pass through the gates but found them effectively closed. Among those hoping to cross the border were women and children from both Morocco and sub-Saharan African countries.

This visit was seen as an attempt by Spain to ease tensions after Madrid supported Morocco's plan for autonomy in Western Sahara in 2022—territory disputed by the independence Front Polisario, supported by Algeria.

According to Spanish media outlets such as the EFE agency and the newspaper El Pais, thousands of migrants are entering Ceuta on foot through the border outpost.

Border Services Reaction

Agents of the Spanish Civil Guard are merely observing and allowing the crowd crossing the border, surprised by the large number of people crossing it. The crossing takes place near the so-called 'outpost'—a wide stone barrier that separates Ceuta from Morocco and has a fence.

Border Crossing Mechanisms

According to data from EFE and El Pais, hundreds of young people jumped over the unsecured fence, while others walked around the 'outpost' on foot, ending up in Ceuta territory. Security personnel interviewed by EFE stated that they do not know the reason for the mass gathering of youth to cross the Ceuta fence, which coincides with the celebration of the Royal Holiday in Morocco—a national public holiday marking the accession of King Mohammed VI to the throne in 1999.

Declaration of Emergency

Ceuta declared itself to be in a state of 'absolute humanitarian and social emergency' after more than 1500 people who were thrown into the sea in Morocco arrived in this North African enclave over the last ten days. The President of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivás, appealed to the Government of Spain to declare a state of 'national emergency' in the territory and to send central government resources to manage the 'migration crisis.'

Scale of Migration Flow

Juan Jesús Vivás stated in interviews with various Spanish media outlets: 'We are in a situation of absolute humanitarian and social emergency that requires consistent action through a unified command ensuring an energetic, decisive, and immediate response.' According to city authorities, between 1500 and 2000 people managed to reach Ceuta in the last ten days after being thrown into the sea in Morocco and swimming towards Spanish waters.

Vivás noted that this is equivalent to 2% of Ceuta's entire population and compared it to what would happen if one million people illegally reached Spain by sea in the last ten days. Although migration pressure in Ceuta is constant, especially in the summer, due to sea conditions and weather, the city president emphasized that there have been 'peaks of special intensity' in the last ten days, which have turned into a 'national emergency.'

Current Situation and Causes

According to local authorities, approximately 700 people are currently in the city's temporary migrant reception centers, which have 512 beds, and another 400 are waiting for a decision on the street. Most arrivals in Ceuta are young people under 30, including hundreds of minors, according to the same sources. The city government and police sources indicate that 30 bodies of people who died attempting to reach Ceuta by swimming have been recovered from the sea this year.

Reports from migrants who arrived in Ceuta over the last ten days, quoted by Spanish media, speak of a 'call effect' caused by a ruling of the Supreme Court of Spain at the beginning of this month. According to this ruling, migrants arriving in the country by sea illegally cannot be immediately returned to the authorities of another state. However, the court ruled that this rule does not apply in the case of the sea, but only to those who enter Spain 'by overcoming established border containment elements, such as fences.'