57 die in dash to enter Spanish territory, flee Morocco, other states
by Paul Godfrey & Lisa Hornung · UPIJuly 31 (UPI) -- About 57 people have died trying to cross from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, local officials said Friday.
In the past 24 hours, about 60,000 people crossed the border and overwhelmed the small enclave, taking advantage of a new Spanish Supreme Court ruling that said that Spain can't send home migrants that arrive in Spanish territory.
Most of them climbed fences or swam into Ceuta.
About 48,000 people were returned to Morocco by Friday afternoon. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in Ceuta on Friday morning, and called it "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity."
Ceuta has about 83,000 residents. Some businesses closed, and residents were staying inside.
So far, no migrants have moved on to Spain or anywhere else in Europe, a senior European Union official said.
Several people said they had been encouraged to enter Ceuta by the Moroccan authorities.
"They just kept saying, 'Go that way, go that way,'" said Youssef Alaoui, 26, told The New York Times. He said police officers pointed them in the right direction. He swam across the maritime border, he said, and saw several dead bodies in the water.
"It's like an apocalypse. Tides of people everywhere," José Carlos Lara, a Ceuta business owner, told a Spanish television network.
The crisis also offered fresh ammunition to Sánchez's political enemies.
"Just as serious as what is happening is that the Government reacts with weakness," declared Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the center-right Popular Party.
Morocco's government doesn't recognize Spain's sovereignty in Ceuta or Melilla, an enclave farther east on Morocco's coast.
Spain sent troops to Ceuta on Friday. Authorities requested assistance from Madrid after the security situation descended into chaos on Thursday with border integrity completely overwhelmed and at least 15 people drowned after attempting to swim to Ceuta.
"The armed forces will reinforce the Civil Guard in the exercise of its powers and any others that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta," said Spain's Interior Ministry.
It added that it was coordinating with Morocco to address the flow of migrants and that both governments were committed to coming up with and implementing measures for the swift return "of all people who have entered illegally."
Sanchez was due to hold emergency talks with officials in Ceuta on Friday.
In a post on X, he reassured Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas that his administration was deploying all necessary resources and partnering with Moroccan and international authorities to "restore normalcy as soon as possible."
Separated from the Spanish mainland by the Gibraltar Strait, just 10 miles wide, Ceuta is a key staging post in the journeys of migrants trying to reach Europe. The interior ministry blamed organized human traffickers using the decision to "encourage the flow of undocumented migrants."
Implications for other European countries, due to the so-called Schengen free travel area that, once on the soil of any member nation, allows people to move around the continent passport-free, prompted France to tighten its border with Spain.
"In response to the situation observed in the Ceuta enclave, I gave instructions as of last night to immediately strengthen the controls at the Spanish border. Furthermore, I am activating the Rapid Intervention Border Force for in-depth checks," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced on X on Friday morning.