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Ceuta border breach
Thousands of migrants streamed into Ceuta, Spain, after local authorities asked Madrid for reinforcements to manage a border crisis that boiled over on Thursday with large crowds breeching the border fence, and Spain said it would send the Armed Forces to help the Civil Guard “to maintain security in the city of Ceuta.”
“Spain will deploy its military to restore order at its border with Morocco in Ceuta”
AP quoted Rachid Sbihi, head of the association that represents Spain’s Civil Guard officers who police the border in Ceuta, saying, “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing,” and adding that the border had “totally collapsed.”
Spain’s government delegation in Ceuta said at least nine people died Thursday during the chaos, with bodies seen floating in the water, while CNN described Spain’s plan to deploy its military to restore order after thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco and “at least nine” died.
The escalation came after a surge in migrants attempting to reach Ceuta mainly by swimming on Wednesday, and the AP reported that the Tarajal border was opened under unusual circumstances, with Achraf Maimouni of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights saying, “The Tarajal border was opened under unusual circumstances this morning and people crossed,” as video showed crowds walking around the breakwaters at Tarajal beach onto local roads.
Emergency request denied
Ceuta’s president Juan Jesús Vivas formally requested a national emergency declaration after more than 2,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco in the past 10 days, but Spain’s Ministry of the Interior denied the request and said, “it is not possible to activate this mechanism, as requested by the president of the Government of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas.”
Fox News quoted White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly saying, “President Trump has long warned Europe what would happen if they continue to implement far-left, globalist policies, including enabling mass migration,” as the White House blamed Spain’s left-wing government for the border collapse.
In a separate account, Brussels Signal reported that Vivas told radio stations Onda Cero and Cadena SER on July 30 that about 1,500 people had entered the city in little over a week, equivalent to almost 2 per cent of its population of some 84,000, and that the CETI built for 512 people was holding more than 700 on July 29.
Brussels Signal also said facilities for unaccompanied minors were reported to be running at around 1,600 per cent of capacity, with Ceuta caring for roughly 570 minors up from 180 some 10 days earlier, while it described the Government Delegation in Ceuta moving people to the mainland on July 29 with a first group of 39 taken to Algeciras in southern Spain.
Italy, Schengen, and fallout
The crisis triggered broader European political fallout, with the AP noting that the chaos had ripple effects in Italy and that Premier Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend Italy’s open-border Shengen agreement with Spain “to defend our borders and ensure the safety of our citizens.”
“Premier Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend Italy’s open-border Shengen agreement with Spain”
Al Jazeera reported that the Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani urged suspending Spain’s membership in Schengen, writing on X, “I support closing Schengen to Spain. Irregular and unregulated migration poses a threat to national security.”
Spain’s Interior Ministry said it would ensure the safety of citizens and the integrity of the nation’s border but could not declare a national state of emergency, and it said Spain and Morocco agreed “for the return, as soon as possible, of all the people who entered Ceuta illegally.”
Roya News said Spain’s Civil Guard, Maritime Rescue Service, and the Red Cross recovered 60 bodies from waters around Ceuta over the past year, while it added that Spain’s Interior Ministry reported 2,826 irregular migrants arrived in Ceuta between January 1 and July 15, a 149% increase compared with the same period last year.
