Tarajal beach became a scene of intense activity when large groups of migrants overwhelmed the breakwater and entered the coastal enclave of Ceuta. Many of the arrivals were families with young children, in addition to young men. Some in the crowd shouted 'Viva España!' to a freelance journalist from the Associated Press who was documenting the unfolding events. Spain's Guardia Civil, which is responsible for border security, confirmed that a significant number of people were arriving from the sea but could not provide exact figures. As the day progressed into evening, the Spanish government announced the deployment of 60 military personnel and 30 extra police officers to the area to help manage the situation.
Tarajal beach was not prepared for such a large influx of migrants. The area is a known point of entry, but the number of people arriving was unprecedented. The Guardia Civil spokesperson confirmed the overwhelming nature of the situation and the difficulty in controlling the flow of migrants into the region. The arrival of military personnel and additional police officers was expected to bolster security and provide support to the overwhelmed forces already in place. This deployment came as a response to the rapidly escalating situation and the need for immediate action to restore order.
Local Guardia Civil leader Rachid Sbihi described the scene in Ceuta as one of 'total collapse' and 'absolute chaos.' He noted that migrant reception centers were already full, forcing hundreds of people to sleep on the streets. Officials in Ceuta estimated the number of new arrivals to be in the thousands, some of whom had scaled the tall barrier between the enclave and Morocco. The border was unable to handle the influx, with the situation rapidly deteriorating.
Sbihi's assessment of the situation highlighted the overwhelming nature of the arrival of migrants. The already overburdened reception centers could not accommodate the number of people entering Ceuta. Many migrants had no choice but to sleep on the streets or in makeshift shelters. The use of the Tarajal breakwater as an entry point allowed for a significant number of people to cross into the enclave, which had a ripple effect on the overall border security. The inability of the border to handle the influx led to a breakdown in the management of the situation, contributing to the chaotic environment described by Sbihi.
President of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, petitioned the central government in Madrid to declare a national emergency in response to the crisis. However, the Spanish interior ministry dismissed the request, explaining that a national emergency can only be declared in response to severe weather events, such as wildfires, or in the case of a volcanic or nuclear threat.
The rejection of the national emergency declaration left Vivas and other local officials frustrated. They felt that the central government was not fully recognizing the severity of the situation in Ceuta. The lack of a national emergency response meant that additional resources and support would not be available in the same way as they would during a natural disaster.
This month, Spain's Supreme Court invalidated a policy that permitted the immediate return of migrants intercepted at sea near Ceuta or Melilla. A Guardia Civil spokesperson explained to Reuters that the legal shift had initially resulted in a 'slow trickle' of individuals attempting to cross, but the situation escalated dramatically on Thursday with a massive surge in crossings.
The legal shift had created uncertainty about the procedures for handling intercepted migrants. The previous policy allowed for the quick return of individuals caught at sea, but the new legal landscape required a different approach. This shift had the potential to encourage more people to attempt the crossing, as they were aware that the chances of being turned back immediately had decreased. The surge in crossings on Thursday suggested that this legal change had had a direct impact on the behavior of potential migrants.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed concerns over the situation in Ceuta, suggesting that Spain should be suspended from the Schengen travel area, which allows for visa-free movement across most of Europe. President Vivas and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, both from the conservative People's Party, described the influx of migrants as a 'national security crisis.' Feijéo stressed that the government could not afford to ignore the situation.
The Spanish government, through its foreign minister, Jose Luis Albares, rejected the idea of using immigration as a political tool. Albares accused Meloni and Tajani of weaponizing immigration for their own political agendas. He emphasized the importance of European solidarity and cooperation in addressing the migration crisis.
According to a government spokesperson reported by Agence France-Presse, nine bodies were recovered from the area, though this information could not be independently verified. Moroccan police in riot gear used teargas and water cannons to disperse the crowds near the border. Local human rights organizations described the situation as 'exceptional,' noting that the border had been opened 'under unusual circumstances.' The humanitarian toll also worsened, with the confirmed death toll rising to 43 after more bodies were recovered from the sea. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sáááánchez travelled to Ceuta on Friday, blaming criminal smuggling networks for exploiting false rumours about Spain's migration policies to encourage the mass crossing.
The recovery of nine bodies from the area was a grim reminder of the dangers faced by those attempting to cross into Ceuta. The bodies were not confirmed by independent sources, which raised questions about the accuracy of the information. The use of teargas and water cannons by Moroccan police highlighted the violent nature of the border control measures. The local human rights organizations were concerned about the potential for human rights abuses and the need for international attention to the situation. Spanish authorities said nearly 49,000 migrants entered Ceuta in just over 24 hours, making it one of the largest sudden border crossings the enclave has witnessed. By Friday, more than 37,500 migrants had voluntarily returned to Morocco, while thousands remained in the city awaiting processing.
The death toll in Spain’s Ceuta border crisis with Morocco has climbed to 67, the Spanish government said Saturday. They included some who drowned and some who were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier. Spain announced it was installing a 500-meter-long containment barrier along the breakwater fence into the sea after some 60,000 migrants breached the tiny Spanish territory’s frontier between Thursday and Friday. A handful of exhausted migrants who swam to Ceuta's urban Tarajal beach Saturday morning were met by soldiers who escorted them back across the border. Spain's interior ministry says the majority of those who entered the Spanish territory in North Africa have already returned to Morocco. After days of chaos and streets packed with people who had hoped for a better life in Spain, residents of Ceuta woke up Saturday to an uneasy calm. Even so, security for residents of the autonomous city of 84,000 remained bruised. “Life in this city has been disrupted as a result of the border incident,” said Ceuta’s Mayor-President Juan Jesus Vivas. “The return of people has begun satisfactorily but the process must be completed,” he said. “The city has not yet returned to normal.” Some determined migrants, however, remained in Ceuta. Among them was Mohamed Hatri, a 23-year-old Moroccan. “They’ve closed everything down so that we can’t buy anything to eat, to force us to return to our country,” he said.
Spain Almost all of the tens of thousands of migrants who entered Spain's enclave of Ceuta in North Africa had left by Saturday, officials said, as some EU countries bolstered their border controls over the sudden influx. An estimated 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta over just a few days from neighbouring Morocco, the enclave's regional president Juan Jesus Vivas told reporters, but by Saturday Spain's interior minister said almost all had left. "The situation has been almost entirely reversed," Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters. Under the watch of Spanish soldiers and police on Saturday morning, the remaining young migrants continued crossing back over the border to Morocco, AFP journalists saw. Any who lingered too long on the coastal path were immediately ushered back out by the soldiers. To cross into Ceuta, many swam around a small border barrier that juts out into the Mediterranean. At least 67 people died in the attempt, said Grande-Marlaska providing updated figures Saturday.