Spain is deploying extra troops and police officers to its north African enclave of Ceuta after thousands of people swam and waded into the tiny territory from neighbouring Morocco in a matter of hours. Videos shot at Tarajal beach on Thursday showed crowds of people walking around the breakwaters and running on the beach and roads. Most appeared to be young men, but there were also families with women and children. “Viva España!” some shouted to a freelance photographer working for the Associated Press.
Chaos at the border
A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil force, which polices Spain’s borders, said the migrants were “massively entering from the sea” through the Tarajal breakwater but could not provide an estimate of the numbers. Spain’s national broadcaster, TVE, reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people had crossed into Ceuta, while the state news agency, Efe, said some had entered by scaling the high border fence.
“The situation is absolute chaos,” said Rachid Sbihi, the head of the association that represents Guardia Civil officers in Ceuta. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing.” He added that the border had “totally collapsed”. Agence France-Presse quoted a government spokesperson as saying that nine bodies had been recovered.
Human rights concerns
Achraf Maimouni, a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, described the situation as “exceptional”. He said the Tarajal border had been opened “under unusual circumstances” on Thursday morning and people had crossed over. Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of Ceuta, demanded the deployment of additional police and troops “to guarantee the inviolability of the frontier” and citizens’ safety. He also called on the central government to declare a national emergency over the crossings.
Vivas had said on Wednesday that migrant reception centres were overwhelmed, with hundreds of people sleeping on the streets. He said Ceuta needed “more resources, more infrastructure, more regulation and effective coordination between all the administrations”. “We’re not looking for privileges; we’re looking for a fair and responsible solution in line with our reality,” he added.
Government response
On Thursday evening, Spain’s interior ministry announced that 60 members of the armed forces would be deployed to Ceuta, along with an additional 30 Guardia Civil officers. “The armed forces will reinforce the Guardia Civil in the exercise of its powers and any others that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta,” the ministry said. But it rejected calls for the declaration of a national emergency, saying such emergencies could not be declared over migration issues, and could only be declared in response to dire meteorological events – such as the current wildfires – or in the face of a volcanic or nuclear threat.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is due to travel to Ceuta on Friday with the interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Sánchez said his government would provide “an immediate response” to the situation, which echoes the border crisis in 2021 when more than 8,000 people arrived in just two days. “We’re mobilising all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normality as soon as possible,” he said in a post on X. “I just conveyed this to President Vivas. This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation.”
Legal and political implications
This month Spain’s supreme court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta – or Spain’s other north African territory of Melilla – could not be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border rejection regime. The Guardia Civil spokesperson told Reuters: “It has been a slow trickle since the supreme court’s ruling, but today has been an explosion.”
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative opposition People’s party, to which Vivas belongs, said the situation was desperate. “The government can’t look the other way,” he added, “because we are facing a national security crisis.” Santiago Abascal, who leads the far-right Vox party, described the incident as an “invasion” and said those crossing into Ceuta were not fleeing war or poverty but had been summoned by Sánchez’s government to ensure he could remain in power.
Moroccan perspective
Moroccan government sources attributed the surge to “criminal organisations” and said its cooperation with Spain remained “exemplary”. The mass crossing into Ceuta in May 2021 came amid heightened tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Spain’s decision to allow a Western Sahara independence leader to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain. Speaking at the time, Sánchez hinted at a link between the sudden relaxing of border controls and the diplomatic tensions. “As the president of Spain, I believe firmly that Morocco is a partner country, it’s a country that is a friend of Spain and it should continue this way,” he said. “To be effective, this cooperation needs to always be based on respect. Respect for mutual borders.”
Ceuta and Melilla make up the EU’s only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience crowds of would-be migrants attempting to enter to reach Europe.
