Ceuta Faces Migrant Crisis After Mass Crossing
PHOTO CAPTION: Migrants stand on a beach in Ceuta, following mass crossings of migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into Spanish territory, in Ceuta, Spain, August 2, 2026. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
CEUTA, Spain, Aug. 3 — Hundreds of migrants camped on a beach in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on Monday as local authorities struggled to accommodate thousands who remained following a mass border crossing last week.
Spain estimated that about 69,500 migrants had returned to Morocco during the previous four days. That figure exceeded initial estimates that roughly 50,000 people entered Ceuta on Thursday.
The official death toll stood at 72 on the Spanish side of the border and 11 on the Moroccan side.
Many migrants said they decided to leave Ceuta because shop closures left them without food, they encountered hostility from residents and they were unable to travel to mainland Spain.
Ceuta and Spain’s other North African enclave, Melilla, sit along Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. Both periodically experience attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Reuters video showed scores of migrants, most from sub-Saharan Africa, lying on the sand at El Trampolin beach.
Many wrapped themselves in towels for protection from the wind while Spanish army and police vehicles patrolled a road behind them.
Ceuta’s leader, Juan Jesus Vivas, told broadcaster Telecinco that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remained in the enclave.
He said Ceuta’s two migrant reception centers — one for adults and another for minors — had “collapsed.”
Local official Alberto Gaitan said the city was processing 862 migrant minors, who receive special legal protections against deportation.
Crisis creates diplomatic tensions
The crisis has intensified anti-immigration rhetoric across Europe and caused diplomatic friction within the European Union over border policy.
Spain has accused some EU partners of responding in an unhelpful and polarizing manner.
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Monday that Spain had supported other EU countries during previous migration crises and now expected similar assistance.
EU interior ministers were scheduled to hold an emergency video conference Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Albares sharply criticized Italy’s government, accusing it of helping spread misinformation.
He said Morocco had immediately offered police assistance without attaching conditions, helping Spain rapidly return most of the migrants who crossed.
Vivas, however, criticized the Moroccan government. He said many people in Ceuta believed Morocco had allowed the crossing to happen or possibly helped orchestrate it.
“Morocco has shown us that it isn’t reliable,” Vivas told the newspaper El Pais.
“There’s no alternative but to put in place whatever means are necessary to ensure it cannot do this again.”
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that the surge resulted from misinformation on social media, human-trafficking networks and confusion over a Spanish court ruling that prohibited the immediate return of migrants intercepted at sea.
That explanation was consistent with the Spanish government’s official position.
Intelligence agencies face questions
El Pais and Cadena SER radio reported that Spanish intelligence agencies concluded Morocco had not planned the mass crossing but had allowed it to occur.
The reports, citing officials familiar with the matter, said Moroccan border restrictions were gradually relaxed during July and were allegedly removed as crowds moved toward the Tarajal border crossing during Morocco’s Throne Day holiday.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those reports.
In its Sunday statement, the ministry said Morocco remained committed to international cooperation against irregular migration and human trafficking.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Saturday that the CNI foreign intelligence agency, which is overseen by the Defense Ministry, had not warned him that a large crossing was imminent.
El Pais reported Monday that the lack of warning had created tension between the Interior and Defense ministries.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson downplayed the reported disagreement.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles declined to say whether the CNI had received advance intelligence about the crossing, saying its work was secret.
She praised what she called the “exceptional” work of Spanish security personnel.
(Source: Reuters)
