{"id":5797,"date":"2026-07-31T11:07:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5797"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:07:50","slug":"at-least-18-migrants-dead-as-49k-breached-border-to-reach-spains-ceuta-enclave-from-morocco-serious-humanitarian-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5797","title":{"rendered":"At least 18 migrants dead as 49K breached border to reach Spain\u2019s Ceuta enclave from Morocco: ‘Serious humanitarian crisis’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

At least 18 migrants died as an estimated 49,000 migrants stormed into the tiny Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on Thursday \u2014 as officials described the border breach as a \u2018serious humanitarian crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Clashes were reported at border crossings Thursday, with authorities deploying water cannons in a desperate bid to stop the hordes of migrants from reaching Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around 49,000 people crossed the border and made their way into Ceuta over the past 24 hours, Spain\u2019s Interior Ministry told reporters Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s chaotic,\u201d said Rachid Sbihi, head of the association that represents Spain\u2019s Civil Guard officers in Ceuta, who police the border, describing the situation as a \u201cserious humanitarian crisis\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are still entering. The reinforcements that have arrived are only helping the injured and other humanitarian efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many migrants among the 18 dead have drowned, according to Sbihi. Some were killed in a stampede while trying to cross fences near the Tarajal beach.<\/p>\n

Footage captured migrants swimming over from the Moroccan \u200cside of the Tarajal border using inflatable inner tubes and flotation devices. Others smashed through a gate in a fence and ran into the city.<\/p>\n

Thousands of migrants roamed the streets after entering Ceuta while others slept in parks and on sidewalks.<\/p>\n

Most who made the crossing were young men, but there were also families and unaccompanied children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBye Bye Morocco, hello Spain,\u201d migrants chanted as they made their way into Ceuta, according to AFP. <\/p>\n

Ceuta is one of two EU land borders with Africa \u2014 and is separated from the Spanish mainland only by the Strait of Gibraltar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very tough,\u201d Jadid Zacaria told Reuters, describing his plight.\u00a0\u201cThe police tried to stop us. But our will and determination allowed us to come here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Others pleaded with officers in Ceuta not to return them to Morocco.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMorocco, no. Morocco, no, please,\u201d scores of migrants begged, as\u00a0reported by El Pais.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot Morocco don\u2019t worry. Nothing about Morocco. Come in, come,\u201d a law enforcement officer reportedly said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Clashes were also reported at the Beni Ansar border point in Melilla on Thursday. That has been the only open crossing between Morocco and the Spanish autonomous city for the last six years.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s pro-migration Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to arrive at 12 noon local time on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cops have been working to clear migrants from Ceuta\u2019s city center ahead of the pol\u2019s arrival,\u00a0according to RTVE.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main streets are overflowing,\u201d one pharmacy manager told the outlet. \u201cA 15-minute journey to work took me twice as long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supermarket worker Sebastian Anton said the shop had to close at 10:30 a.m., just 90 minutes after opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a small store and there were so many people trying to get in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to help, but it\u2019s impossible to do it for everyone. I\u2019ve never seen this situation in my life, and I\u2019ll never see it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local leaders have declared a national emergency \u2014 and are calling on the Madrid government to act. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government of Spain is fully committed to providing an immediate response to the situation in Ceuta,\u201d Sanchez wrote on X Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are mobilizing all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the measures needed to restore normalcy as soon as possible. Now is the time to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Alberto N\u00fa\u00f1ez Feij\u00f3o \u2014 the leader of Spain\u2019s conservative People\u2019s Party, the main opposition \u2014 described the situation in Ceuta as \u201cdesperate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the government \u201ccannot look the other way on its obligations because we are facing a national security crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

France is ramping up controls at the Spanish border in light of the migration surge, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has warned her government is \u201cprepared to intervene with extraordinary measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cItaly will not stand by and watch,\u201d\u00a0Meloni blasted on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The latest influx dwarfs the 8,000 migrants that stormed the border in Ceuta over just two days in May 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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With Post wires\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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