Spanish PM to Visit Ceuta After 19 Migrants Die Crossing from Morocco

At least 19 migrants died attempting to cross from Morocco into Spain's Ceuta enclave, local authorities confirmed. The fatalities occurred amid reports that tens of thousands entered the territory within just 24 hours, triggering a serious humanitarian crisis.

Thousands of people surged by sea and land from Morocco into Ceuta – a Spanish territory on North Africa's coast – on Thursday and into early Friday. News agencies, citing police and unnamed officials, reported that more than 40,000 may have entered the territory.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government is mobilizing all available resources to respond. Sánchez is expected to visit Ceuta on Friday alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.

Rachid Sbihi, head of a local workers' association representing the Civil Guard, called it a “serious humanitarian crisis,” noting that thousands of migrants, including children traveling with families, were sleeping on sidewalks while others wandered the streets of Ceuta.

“People are still pouring in. Reinforcements sent here can only assist the wounded and other humanitarian efforts. The situation is chaotic,” Sbihi told the Associated Press.

Of the 19 deaths, many drowned, but some also died in a stampede while trying to cross the breakwater at Tarajal beach, an urban beach near the border checkpoint with Morocco.

At Ceuta's gateway, Moroccan forces deployed water cannons and pushed back crowds. The charred remains of a bus and seven cars could be seen nearby after clashes.

Video footage from Thursday showed crowds – mostly young men, but also families with women and young children – walking across breakwaters to reach local roads.

“Strengthened Controls”

Ceuta, along with Melilla – another Spanish autonomous city in North Africa – is the European Union's only land border with Africa. Both cities regularly experience waves of migrants attempting to cross into Europe.

To reach Ceuta on the North African coast, migrants often swim from Morocco's Fnideq, a distance of about 5 km. Others cross from nearby Belyounech, where the gap is shorter.

Ceuta officials attribute the surge to a ruling by Spain's Supreme Court earlier this month banning the immediate expulsion of migrants arriving by sea without due legal process. The ruling does not apply to those entering Spain by land, including climbing over border fences.

However, some activists in Morocco doubt the ruling is behind the wave, arguing that most migrants are unlikely to know about such legal decisions.

France has announced it will tighten its border with Spain following recent events. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on social media platform X on Friday that he had “ordered an immediate strengthening of controls at the border with Spain” since Thursday evening. He also announced the activation of border rapid intervention forces “for in-depth checks.”

The border crisis has also had knock-on effects in Italy, another key migrant destination. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend the Schengen open-border agreement with Spain “to protect borders and ensure citizens' safety,” although Italy does not share a border with Spain.

Juan Jesus Vivas, head of Ceuta's regional government, called on the central government to declare a state of emergency for national security reasons, urging increased police presence and military deployment at the border “to guarantee the inviolability of the border and the safety of the people.”

Spain's Interior Ministry rejected the request for a national emergency declaration, citing that such a measure does not apply to migration crises, but promised additional resources.