Migrants wait for a shop to open so they can buy food after crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026.
Spanish authorities say 48,000 migrants have returned voluntarily to Morocco after a massive influx of people into Spainโs north African enclave of Ceuta sparked a humanitarian crisis.
Some 60,000 people have crossed into ceuta in the last few days, reigniting the immigration debate across Europe.
Some swam several miles through theesea, defying authorities who tried to turn them back with water cannon, tear๐ซgas and warning shots.
At least 57 migrants died on the journey. Those who died include some who drowned or were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier near a border checkpoint.
Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta, which sits on the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has been a Spanish possession since 1580.
On the Moroccan side of the border, security forces clashed with migrants. The chaos also had ripple effects abroad, with Italy and France pledging to tighten their controls on people arriving from Spain.
The situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable,โ Ceuta President Juan Jesรบs Vivas told journalists.
Meanwhile,ย migrantsย fromย Moroccoย alsoย attemptedย toย crossย intoย Melilla,ย Spainโsย otherย territoryย atย theย tipย ofย Northย Africa,ย whereย theyย clashedย withย police.
During a visit to Ceuta on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sรกnchez called the incident a “violation of Spain’s territorial integrityโ.
He has deployed the armed forces to bol๐ฌter security in Ceuta and Melilla.
ยฉ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ.๐๐จ๐ฆ/๐๐๐๐ข๐จ /๐๐
