49 thousand migrants arrived in Spanish Ceuta in a day

The Spanish government has deployed military units to reinforce police in its North African enclave of Ceuta after migrants from Morocco breached the fence around the city on Thursday. France is strengthening border control, and Italy is calling for the suspension of the Schengen Agreement concerning Spain, writes the BBC.

Spanish state television channel TVE initially reported that between 2 and 3 thousand people had crossed the border, but by Friday morning, according to preliminary estimates by security forces, this figure had increased tenfold. In recent days, primarily on Thursday, more than 40 thousand people illegally crossed the border. The Spanish Ministry of Interior reported 49 thousand migrants arriving in Ceuta.

Published video footage showed hundreds of migrants swimming or drifting on inflatable rings, as well as breaking through gates on land and heading into Ceuta. Some of them shouted: "Long live Spain!"

Ceuta, located on Morocco's northern coast, is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar and has long been a destination for migrants seeking to enter Europe.

In early July, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that migrants detained at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta cannot be returned via the simplified procedure that allowed authorities to immediately send back people caught trying to overcome border fences. According to the Spanish government, "the use of this decision by mafias and criminal organizations" has caused a sharp increase in migration.

According to an AFP journalist, hundreds of people flocked to the northern Moroccan city of Fnideq on Thursday evening after rumors spread about the opening of the border with Spanish Ceuta.

"It was very difficult. The police tried to stop us. But our will and determination allowed us to get here," Reuters quotes Jadid Zakaria, one of those who broke into the enclave.

"After the Supreme Court's decision, the flow was small, but today it has sharply increased," a representative of the Spanish Civil Guard told the publication.

According to authorities, nine bodies were found on Thursday, bringing the number of migrants who died attempting to enter Ceuta in recent months to 60.

The government reported that 200 police special forces officers and 60 military personnel arrived from mainland Spain to reinforce the enclave's regular forces.

Павялічыць

The events recall the situation in 2021, when about 10,000 people from Morocco and other African countries arrived in the enclave, with a population of about 85,000, within a few days. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit Ceuta on Friday with Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Meetings with representatives of security forces and local authorities are expected, his office announced.

Earlier, the Spanish Civil Guard stated that migrants were "arriving en masse by sea" in the area of the Tarajal breakwater — a border dam that can be bypassed by swimming to enter Ceuta. The statement noted that the police were unable to cope with the situation.

Enrique Serrano, owner of a women's clothing store in the center of Ceuta, told Reuters that entrepreneurs are organizing self-defense squads, fearing that police resources will be insufficient.

Ceuta and Melilla — another Spanish autonomous city in North Africa — are the only populated areas in the European Union that share a land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience surges in attempts by migrants to illegally cross the border in an effort to reach Europe.

As Reuters notes, within the European Union, Spain's socialist government stands out for its pro-migration stance. Recently, Spanish authorities launched a program to legalize approximately 500,000 undocumented migrants, which triggered an avalanche of applications, with the number more than double this figure.

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