Hundreds of migrants have reached Ceuta from Morocco in the past week, according to Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of the Spanish territory enclave in North Africa. Images released on Thursday showed people swimming with buoys and flotation devices, while others crossed an opening in the border fence.
The figures remain disputed. The Spanish press reported between 2,000 and 3,000 entries on Thursday alone, a figure the Guardia Civil has not confirmed. The public broadcaster RTVE, however, speaks of "hundreds" of crossings during the day, while specifying that more than 1,500 migrants, mostly young Moroccans, have reached Ceuta in the last two weeks.
Juan Jesús Vivas raised the alarm about the overcrowding of reception facilities: centers for unaccompanied minors are operating at several times their initial capacity. He also reported the discovery of 60 bodies at sea in recent months. In response to this situation, the Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, is expected to visit the area on Friday.
The situation is reminiscent of May 2021, when some 8,000 people crossed into Ceuta in just a few days, triggering a serious diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat. Ceuta and the neighboring enclave of Melilla constitute the European Union's only land borders with the African continent, making them long-standing preferred crossing points for those seeking refuge in Europe.
In recent years, Spanish authorities have strengthened surveillance, consolidated barriers and improved their bilateral cooperation with Morocco, without managing to completely stop crossing attempts.
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