Spain Returns 37,500 Migrants To Morocco After Record Surge At Ceuta Border
Spain Returns 37,500 Migrants To Morocco After Record Surge At Ceuta Border
Authorities indicated that the number of deportations was expected to increase as repatriation operations continued.
Spain has deported approximately 37,500 of the estimated 60,000 migrants who entered its North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco since early Friday, as the government moved swiftly to contain what it described as an unprecedented border crisis and a direct assault on the country’s territorial integrity.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said that more than half of those who crossed irregularly into the enclave had been returned to Morocco by 1 p.m. local time on Friday, according to Euro News.
Authorities indicated that the number of deportations was expected to increase as repatriation operations continued.
The large-scale movement of migrants overwhelmed security agencies and local authorities in Ceuta, a Spanish autonomous city with a population of fewer than 83,000 people.
The latest influx came just days after between 1500 and 2000 migrants had already reached the territory.
Local media reports also indicated that at least 34 people lost their lives while attempting to swim from Morocco to Ceuta during the chaotic crossings, highlighting the deadly risks associated with the journey.
The migration crisis followed an agreement reached on Thursday between Spain and Morocco to speed up the return of migrants who entered Ceuta without authorisation.
In response to the unprecedented influx, the Spanish government deployed military personnel to reinforce security in the enclave.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez travelled to Ceuta on Friday alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to assess the situation firsthand.
Addressing the crisis during his visit, Sánchez condemned the mass crossings, describing them as “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity” that warranted “our strongest condemnation.”
Spain’s Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, also appealed to migrants to avoid attempting the dangerous journey, warning that those making the crossing would ultimately be sent back.
“Do not be deceived by the trafficking networks,” Robles reportedly said. “The outcome will be return, in accordance with Spanish law.”
Meanwhile, tensions continued along the border overnight as Moroccan security forces clashed with hundreds of migrants attempting to reach Ceuta.
Despite the heightened security presence, groups of migrants were still trying to enter the enclave on Friday by swimming around the Tarajal breakwater near the main border crossing separating Morocco from the Spanish territory.
The latest mass deportations come after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the unprecedented influx of migrants from Morocco as a “violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,” insisting that the development “deserves our reproach and our condemnation at the strongest possible level.”
Speaking during a televised address from Ceuta on Friday, Sánchez pledged that his government would “remain resolute in guaranteeing security in the face of any challenge, any eventuality and under any circumstances.”
Spanish authorities estimated that at least 60,000 migrants crossed into the enclave within days, a figure that, if confirmed, would mark the largest single surge of irregular migration ever recorded on European Union territory and Spain’s biggest migrant crisis on record.
Most of the migrants reportedly swam from the Moroccan border town of Fnideq, landing on beaches around Ceuta, particularly El Tarajal, one of the closest points to the frontier.
