Spain on alert: Ceuta asks to close the border due to the massive arrival of migrants from Morocco

Thousands of young Moroccans gathered this Thursday at the border with Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa. Hundreds of them managed to scale the border fence, sparking a crisis. Local authorities requested that the government of Pedro Sánchez close the border with Morocco “urgently and without delay.” They also requested the deployment of the army to control the out-of-control situation.

The massive influx of young people at the border between Castillejos (Morocco) and Ceuta was captured on video, which quickly spread on social media. The images brought back memories of the 2021 crisis, when more than 10,000 people entered Ceuta amid a diplomatic crisis between Rabat and Madrid.

The arrival of several thousand people in Castillejos aimed to cross the fence separating the two cities. Hundreds of them managed to scale the protective barriers, which were not guarded by police at the time.

In response to the situation, the Board of Spokespersons of the Assembly of the Autonomous City held an extraordinary meeting following the “qualitative leap” in the persistent mass influx of migrants into Ceuta, exacerbated in recent hours by migrants entering on foot, bypassing the Tarajal breakwater.

The Board agreed to request the closure of the border as an “urgent and indispensable” measure, and the declaration of a national emergency under the provisions of national security legislation.

“We are in a situation of absolute humanitarian and social emergency,” warned the Mayor-President of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, on Spanish public television, TVE.

“In recent days, more than 1,500 migrants have arrived in Ceuta by sea,” at a rate of “200 people per day,” which means that “the reception centers are overwhelmed and saturated,” he explained.

This is how the Moroccans crossed into Ceuta

Furthermore, the government requested reinforcements from the State security forces and the deployment of the Army to guarantee the inviolability of the border and public safety, while also conveying a message of “serenity and calm” to the entire population.

“This is not the first time Ceuta has faced a critical situation like the current one, but as in previous instances, the people of Ceuta will once again demonstrate, and are demonstrating, an example of maturity, solidarity, and resilience. Together and united, we will overcome this,” the government stated in a press release.