At least 18 people have died trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after around 49,000 migrants entered the tiny territory from Morocco in a matter of hours, triggering a political crisis for the Madrid government and unleashing a barrage of criticism from other EU countries.
The large influx of people arriving in Ceuta by swimming across from neighbouring Morocco or scaling the high border fence has caught the city of 85,000 off guard and resulted in what one local police association has called a “serious humanitarian crisis”.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez – who is due to visit Ceuta on Friday with the interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska – is under huge pressure from political opponents and other European countries to come up with a swift and comprehensive response.
The latest incident dwarfs the last mass border crossing in May 2021, when 10,000 people entered the territory over the course of two days by taking advantage of a loosening of border controls by Morocco. » | Sam Jones in Madrid and Angela Giuffrida in Rome | Friday, July 31, 2026
Articles on this problem appear in German on this blog here »
THE NEW YORK TIMES:
Live Updates: Spanish Leader Rushes to Ceuta After Thousands of Migrants Burst Into Territory: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was set to arrive in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa, amid an escalating crisis for his pro-immigration government. »
What to Know About Ceuta: The peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast that Spain has governed for centuries has been a frequent site of mass migrant crossings and political tensions. »
