One day after a massive influx of migrants into Ceuta, Spain’s enclave in North Africa, tens of thousands voluntarily returned to Morocco. According to the Associated Press, citing Spain’s Interior Ministry, 48,300 migrants had returned to Morocco by the end of Friday, with the voluntary return of hundreds more still underway.
Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of Ceuta’s local government, said that approximately 60,000 migrants had entered the enclave by Friday via both land and sea. According to him, that figure is equivalent to nearly 70 percent of Ceuta’s population and has placed unprecedented pressure on the territory’s infrastructure and public services.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said that most migrants chose to return voluntarily after facing uncertain conditions and a lack of clear prospects. The ministry added that the return process is continuing and that more migrants are expected to make the same decision.
The mass crossings by sea, over border fences, and through Morocco’s border checkpoints into Ceuta have resulted in significant loss of life. By Saturday morning, the bodies of 57 people who died while attempting to reach Ceuta had been recovered from both the sea and on land.
Vivas described the situation in Ceuta as “unbearable.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the incident “an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” and stressed the need to bring the situation under control.
Following the sudden arrival of tens of thousands of migrants most of them young men and teenage boys, though women and children were also among them the Spanish government deployed military forces to Ceuta to help restore order and maintain security.
Rachid Sebihi, the head of a civil society organization in Ceuta, described the situation as “chaos” and “a serious humanitarian crisis.” He said that tens of thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, had spent the night in parks and on sidewalks, while others wandered the streets without a clear destination.
According to local sources, most of the migrants who entered Ceuta on Thursday and Friday are living in extremely difficult conditions. Many remain without shelter, food, basic services, or adequate sanitation, and are staying outdoors in the summer heat.
Meanwhile, some critics in Europe, including officials in Italy, have attributed the mass influx to recent changes in Spain’s immigration laws. Spain’s Supreme Court recently ruled that migrants arriving in Ceuta and Melilla by sea should not be summarily expelled before their identities are established and any potential asylum claims are examined.
The Spanish government, however, rejected that claim, insisting that the Ceuta crisis has no connection to the country’s immigration policies. Spanish officials said that linking the incident to the recent legal changes is inaccurate and unsupported by evidence.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
