Spanish authorities in Ceuta have declared a “humanitarian and security emergency” after thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco this week, with at least 18 people confirmed dead.
Regional president Juan Jesús Vivas said the emergency shelter for migrant minors is now running at 2,400% over its ordinary capacity, and more people are sleeping outside the adult reception centre than inside it.
Spain’s national broadcaster, RTVE, put the number of new arrivals at between 2,000 and 3,000 by Thursday, with most swimming in around the Tarajal breakwater or scaling the border fence. At least 18 migrants have died trying to reach Ceuta after thousands breached the frontier with Morocco, authorities said. Many drowned, while others were killed in a stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, according to a local Guardia Civil workers’ representative, who described the scene as a serious humanitarian crisis.
Officials say the surge follows a Supreme Court ruling this month barring authorities from immediately returning migrants intercepted at sea near Ceuta or Melilla to Morocco. A Guardia Civil spokesperson told Reuters it had been “a slow trickle since the Supreme Court’s ruling, but today has been an explosion.”
Vivas has called on Madrid to deploy the army and place a single chain of command over security forces in the enclave. Spain’s armed forces are being sent to support the Guardia Civil, and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is due in Ceuta on Friday.
Spain’s Interior Ministry has blamed human trafficking networks for exploiting the court ruling to lure migrants, particularly young people, into attempting the crossing. Madrid and Rabat have agreed to speed up procedures for deporting those who entered illegally.
Businesses in central Ceuta shut their doors as the crisis unfolded, with some owners organising to protect their shops over fears that police resources would be stretched thin.
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