At least 43 people die as tens of thousands cross to Spain's Ceuta enclave from Morocco
Migrants return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
At least 43 people have died attempting to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after as many as 50,000 migrants crossed into the territory from Morocco within hours, triggering a political crisis for the Spanish Government and prompting criticism from other European Union countries.
The large influx of people arriving in Ceuta by swimming from neighbouring Morocco or scaling the border fence caught the city of 85,000 residents off guard and created what a local Guardia Civil association described as a "serious humanitarian crisis".
Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who travelled to Ceuta on Friday, described the mass crossing as "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity" and said every available state resource would be used to protect the city's residents.
He attributed the surge to "human trafficking networks", which he said had exploited a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling preventing the summary return of migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Spain's other North African enclave, Melilla.
Sánchez said: “That has spread like wildfire during these last few hours through the networks of mafias that traffic in human beings and has produced an avalanche of the characteristics and dimension that we experienced yesterday.”
Facing pressure from political opponents and European leaders to respond swiftly, Sánchez announced a temporary reception centre to facilitate the documentation, registration, triage and expedited removal of people with no legal right to remain in Spain.
He also announced plans to install a line of buoys near the breakwater at Tarajal beach to clearly mark the border and comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
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Spain's interior ministry said around 25,000 people had voluntarily crossed back into Morocco during Friday.
The latest influx far exceeded the previous mass crossing in May 2021, when 10,000 migrants entered Ceuta over two days after Morocco relaxed border controls.
That incident occurred amid diplomatic tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Spain's decision to allow the leader of the Polisario Front, the Western Sahara independence movement, to receive treatment for Covid-19.
The diplomatic dispute eased in 2022 after Spain abandoned its longstanding neutrality on Western Sahara and backed Morocco's autonomy proposal, a move that strained relations with Algeria.
Sánchez visited Algiers on July 20, marking the first visit by a Spanish prime minister in four years and signalling improving relations between the two countries.
Moroccan Government sources told the latest crossings were organised by criminal organisations and insisted cooperation with Spain remained "exemplary".
On Thursday evening, Spain's Interior Ministry announced the deployment of 60 members of the armed forces and 30 additional Guardia Civil officers to Ceuta.
“The armed forces will reinforce the Guardia Civil in the exercise of its powers and any others that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta,” the ministry said.
Despite the reinforcements, authorities continued to struggle with the number of arrivals.
Rachid Sbihi, who heads a local association representing Guardia Civil officers, described the situation as "a serious humanitarian crisis".
“People are still entering. The reinforcements that have arrived are only helping the injured and other humanitarian efforts,” he said.
He said thousands of people, including unaccompanied children, were sleeping in parks and on pavements because no shelter was available, while others wandered the streets.
“It’s chaotic,” he added.
Sbihi said many of those who died drowned, while others were killed in a crush near the breakwater at Tarajal beach.
Video footage from Thursday showed crowds walking around the breakwaters and onto local roads. Although most appeared to be young men, families, women and young children were also among those crossing.
“Viva España!” some shouted to an freelance photographer.
Ceuta and Melilla are the European Union's only land borders with Africa and have periodically experienced surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Juan Jesús Vivas, president of Ceuta's local government, called for additional police and military personnel "to guarantee the inviolability of the frontier" and protect residents.
He also urged Madrid to declare a national emergency, although the Government rejected the request, saying such declarations cannot be made in response to migration events.
Events in Ceuta prompted strong reactions across Europe.
Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares summoned Italy's ambassador to Madrid after prime minister Giorgia Meloni's government suggested Spain should be suspended from the Schengen free-travel area.
Meloni said Italy was prepared to take "extraordinary measures" to defend its borders, arguing that the scenes in Ceuta demonstrated "illegal immigration poses a real threat to the security of Europe's borders".
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani blamed the crisis on Spain's regularisation programme for undocumented migrants, claiming it had encouraged human trafficking and describing the policy as "profoundly wrong".
Albares responded by describing the remarks as "unbecoming" and accusing Italy of "partisan demagoguery".
French interior minister Laurent Nuñez said he had ordered stronger checks at the Spanish border.
Former French prime minister Michel Barnier also criticised Spain's migration policy.
“If a member state makes decisions that create a pull factor for migration, we must be able to immediately protect our borders … Mastering immigration is a condition of sovereignty, security and trust between European states.”
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson urged Spain to "act swiftly to regain control of the situation and fulfil its commitments within Schengen cooperation".
Finnish interior minister Mari Rantanen said all EU member states should support Italy's proposal to suspend Spain's Schengen status.
However, the European Commission later clarified that Ceuta and Melilla are subject to special Schengen rules, preventing onward travel into the wider Schengen area.
EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner described the situation as "unacceptable" but stressed there was no onward migration route from the enclaves.
“I reiterate that there are no onward movements towards the European continent or other member states,” he said. “The Schengen borders code provides for special rules that apply to Ceuta and Melilla. Border checks on persons departing from Ceuta and Melilla remain in force.”
Spain's opposition People's Party (PP) called on Sánchez to adopt a tougher response, arguing that the military and police reinforcements announced on Thursday were insufficient.
In a post on X, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo wrote: “People have continued to arrive in Ceuta throughout the night, and those on the ground describe an occupied city, with nothing sufficient being done to prevent it.”
The far-right Vox party described the crossings as "an invasion".
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