AP —
Spain plans to send in troops to restore order on its border with Morocco in Ceuta after thousands of migrants poured into the tiny Spanish territory, leaving at least nine people dead.
The announcement came after local authorities in Ceuta asked the central government in Madrid for reinforcements to manage the border crisis, which had escalated to a boiling point after large numbers of people broke through the border fence on Thursday.
The Spanish government announced on Thursday night that it would send troops to support private security forces “to maintain public order in the city of Ceuta.” It was also announced that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit Ceuta on Friday along with Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlasca.
“The situation is a complete mess,” Rashid Subihi, president of the association representing Spanish private security guards in Ceuta who guard the border, told The Associated Press. “I can’t give exact numbers, but thousands of migrants are crossing the border,” he said, adding that the border had “completely collapsed.”
Achraf Maimouni, a member of the Moroccan Human Rights Association in northern Morocco, described the situation as “exceptional.”
“This morning, under unusual circumstances, the Tarahar border was opened and people crossed,” he said.
Video footage showed people, mostly Moroccans, walking around the Talahar beach breakwater and onto local roads. Most seemed to be young men, but there were also women and families with small children.
“Viva España!” one yelled at a freelance photographer working for the Associated Press. It was not immediately clear why so many migrants crossed into Ceuta.
The Spanish government mission in Ceuta announced Thursday that at least nine people had died in the chaos. Details of the circumstances of death have not been disclosed, but a body was seen floating in the water. Dozens of people have died trying to reach Ceuta this year, according to local authorities.
The escalation in the border area between Spain and Morocco came on Wednesday after a surge in migrants trying to reach the small enclave, mainly by swimming.
Moroccan authorities have not publicly commented on the crossing, and the Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said the Moroccan government was “working closely” with Spain to deal with the situation, and Moroccan police were interdicting “a large number of people” attempting to cross the border. The two countries agreed to cooperate “to return as soon as possible all those who entered Ceuta illegally.”
Spain’s interior ministry earlier said the government could not declare a national emergency, as requested by local authorities, over migration concerns, although it guaranteed the safety of its citizens and the integrity of its borders.
The turmoil spilled over into Italy, another important destination for migrants. Italy does not share a border with Spain, but Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend Italy’s open border Schengen agreement with Spain “to protect our borders and ensure the safety of our people.”
Ceuta authorities previously linked the surge to a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that said migrants arriving by sea cannot be immediately pushed back across the border without due process, unlike those who enter Spain by land, such as by climbing over the border fence.
However, some Moroccan activists expressed doubts that the ruling was behind the surge, arguing that most migrants would not have been aware of such a legal decision.
Spain has become a major entry point into Europe for migrants seeking better economic opportunities or to escape violence in their home countries.
To reach Ceuta, on Africa’s northern coast, migrants often swim about five kilometers from the Moroccan town of Fnideq to reach Spanish territory. Some attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Beryonek, which is a shorter distance.
Scenes of people streaming across the border are reminiscent of the border crisis in May 2021, when more than 8,000 migrants poured into Ceuta in just two days.
At the time, Morocco was accused of relaxing border controls and allowing migrants to enter Ceuta after Spain allowed Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali to be treated in a Spanish hospital, sparking a diplomatic crisis between Rabat and Madrid. For decades, the pro-independence Polisario Front has claimed to be the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people in Western Sahara, which is in dispute with Morocco.
Juan Jesús Vivas, head of Ceuta’s local government, called on the central government to declare a state of emergency on national security grounds, calling for more police and the deployment of troops to the border “to guarantee the inviolability of the frontier and the security of the people.”
He warned on Wednesday that more than 1,500 migrants had entered the territory in the past week, and migrant reception centers were overwhelmed with hundreds of people sleeping on the streets. But thousands more crossed overnight Thursday.
Spain’s Interior Ministry, which tracks irregular migration, did not confirm the number of migrants who arrived in Ceuta in the past few days, but said it would publish its next migration report on August 3. As of July 15, nearly 3,000 migrants had entered Ceuta by land or sea this year, according to ministry statistics.
The ministry said the law governing the declaration of a national emergency does not consider the flow of migrants to be a risk to national security and that government authorities are “coordinating to respond quickly and effectively to the situation in Ceuta.”
Located on a historic isthmus, Ceuta has been part of Spain since 1580. Ceuta’s population, a mix of Christian and Muslim, Spanish and Moroccan residents and day laborers, lives in relative harmony behind the border fence, where many migrants from all over Africa desperately try to cross in search of a better life in Europe.
