Morocco: Thousands of migrants have entered Spain’s Ceuta enclave from Morocco, with many swimming around border barriers or crossing on foot. The arrivals have put heavy pressure on local services.
Ceuta President – Juan Jesus Vivas described the situation as a humanitarian and social emergency and said that the reception centres are overcrowded, and over 200 people are arriving each day. He called for national emergency measures and military support.
Spain’s government has deployed additional security forces and is coordinating its response. Ceuta and Melilla are the only European Union land that share borders with Africa.
As per the sources, about 60,000 migrants have crossed into Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta from Morocco in the last 24 hours and at least 34 people have died during the crossing. The influx came after Spain’s Supreme Court rule this month that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish exclave, that cannot be summarily returned to Morocco.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the situation as an “attack” and said that the government was working to return all illegal migrants to Morocco as soon as possible. Several European leaders have expressed concern, and some promised to tighten border controls.
UK Prime Minister – Andy Burnham and the French president offered to help Spain. Ceuta, on Morocco’s northern coast, is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar and has long been a focal point for migrants attempting to reach Europe.
Considering the situation, local officials had appealed to Madrid for help after a recent rise in attempted crossings, but there were chaotic scenes on Thursday, July 30, 2026 as border controls apparently broke down.
Videos and images from Thursday clearly showed thousands of people swimming into the city, while local media reported crossings continuing into Friday. Jesús Vivas said the situation was unsustainable and that the recent arrivals amounted to around 70% of the city’s population, which sits at around 83,600 according to the latest local figures.
Thousands of migrants have entered Spain’s Ceuta 🇪🇸 enclave from Morocco 🇲🇦, with many swimming around border barriers or crossing on foot.
The arrivals have put heavy pressure on local services.
Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas described the situation as a humanitarian and… pic.twitter.com/dEBqUoc5hw
— Africa View Facts (@AfricaViewFacts) July 30, 2026
Spain has now deployed its armed forces to bolster security in Ceuta and at its sister city of Melilla, where between 300 to 400 crossings were also reported overnight. Speaking on Friday during a visit to Ceuta, the prime minister condemned the crossings and said it was an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity.
Sánchez added that the government would be looking at reinforcing the border with Morocco. The prime minister blamed the dangerous events on criminal networks manipulating the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, adding that incorrect information had spread like wildfire in recent hours.
He said that authorities in Morocco were co-operating with plans to return those who had entered illegally. Ceuta and Melilla trace their Spanish past to the 15th Century, and they have enjoyed a limited degree of self-government since 1995.
Coveted by Morocco, they have long been a flashpoint in diplomatic relations between the two countries. They form the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.
Many of those crossing the border from Morocco have been young, mainly men, although there are also women and children in the crowds and even babies. Officials estimate at least 7,000 of those who crossed illegally into the territory in the last 24 hours are minors.
Usually, to try to enter Ceuta, migrants swim several kilometres from further up the coast. This time they appear to have been able to get close to the border fence itself with ease. At the start, some even walked along the rocks on the jetty and around the end of it, but most had to swim out and around to reach the beaches on the other side.
It’s not clear where the Moroccan border guards were at this point and why the groups of migrants were not dispersed or stopped.