Ceuta Border Rush Leaves About 100 Dead, Thousands in Spain

Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas said Thursday that an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 migrants are still in the Spanish enclave after a mass crossing from Morocco late last month, when large numbers of mostly military-aged men entered the territory.

Speaking by video link during an extraordinary session of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Vivas also said about 100 people died during the surge.

Officials estimate that around 80,000 migrants entered Ceuta over a 48-hour span in late July.

Vivas described the border crisis as an “invasion” and called it “one of the most difficult moments in the recent history of our city.”

“According to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, an ‘invasion’ should be understood in its second definition as the abnormal or irregular occupation of a specific place,” Vivas said, according to a News Outlet translation of remarks he delivered in Spanish.

“That is precisely what occurred on July 30 and 31, when approximately 80,000 people — equivalent to the entire population of Ceuta — stormed into our city. This characterization, moreover, aligns with the statement made by the President of the Government of Spain, who on Friday the 31st, during his visit to Ceuta, stated that we were facing an attack, a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,” Vivas continued.

Vivas, echoing earlier statements from Spain’s leftist President Pedro Sánchez and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said roughly 75,000 migrants had gone back to Morocco. Still, he warned that this “under no circumstances does it allow us to claim that our city has returned to normal.”

“Ceuta has not returned to normal because between 3,000 and 5,000 people who entered during those fateful days of July 30 and 31 still remain,” Vivas said. “The reception centers for adult and minor migrants are in a state of collapse, turning the influx into a major humanitarian emergency.”

“Added to this are disruptions to public order and a high risk to public safety,” he continued. “Furthermore, the morale of Ceuta’s residents is severely affected. Our population feels sad, helpless, uneasy, fearful, and worried — and with good reason. It is inevitable to wonder whether this will happen again, and if that next time will be the definitive plunge into the abyss, causing us to cease being what we are: Spain and Europe. It has been exposed to the world that we are extraordinarily vulnerable, and that our security and integrity are in the hands of a third country, Morocco, which does not recognize our sovereignty.”

He then proposed a set of actions authorities should take to return the city to normal. The proposals included expelling the remaining Moroccan migrants, provisioning more resources for the city’s migrant facilities, and the implementation of a new economic model which he called on to be “More Spain and More Europe.”

“We serve a society that has forged its character through courage to endure and the ability to overcome adversity. We are confident it will do so again, though I emphasize that the requested support from European authorities remains indispensable. Thank you very much,” Vivas concluded.

Following the border rush between July 30–31, Sánchez called the incident “an attack, a violation of the territorial integrity of Spain.”

News Outlet contacted the governments of Spain and Ceuta for additional comment.