At least 19 die after breach of border between Morocco and Spanish territory of Ceuta
'Humanitarian crisis,' as thousands of migrants pour into territory, local official says
Spain and Morocco reinforced the border fence of a Spanish enclave on Friday and appeared to have largely halted mass crossings after tens of thousands of people arrived by sea and land in a day, with at least 19 dead bodies found in the water.
The Spanish Department of National Security said on its website that more than 49,000 people were estimated to have crossed illegally in 24 hours, citing the Interior Ministry.
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people → die → Ministry
The statement was later deleted from the website with no immediate explanation.
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statement → delete → explanation
The mass crossing into Ceuta, a tiny Spanish-held spit jutting into the Mediterranean from Morocco, caused shock and division in Europe.
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crossing → hold → Europe
France said it was increasing checks on its border with Spain, and Italy threatened to suspend Spain from the European Union's internal open border scheme.
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Italy → say → scheme
At the gates into Ceuta, Moroccan authorities had deployed water cannon trucks and pushed people back.
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authorities → deploy → people
The charred remains of a bus and seven cars could be seen nearby from clashes with the crowds.
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remains → see → crowds
Spanish authorities said they would try to expel those who had entered illegally as quickly as possible, despite a court ruling that put some restrictions on special "border rejection" rules that allow immediate expulsions from the enclave.
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that → say → enclave
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was due to visit Ceuta on Friday with Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
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Sanchez → visit → Marlaska
Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish autonomous city in northern Morocco, have the European Union's only land borders with Africa.
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Ceuta → have → Africa
The two cities, each home to around 85,000 people, both periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe, but the scale of Thursday's rush had little precedent.
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scale → experience → precedent
Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres said on Friday that among factors contributing to the surge may have been a ruling by Spain's Supreme Court earlier this month that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be summarily returned under special rules.
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migrants → say → rules
To reach Ceuta, located on the northern African coast, migrants often swim from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, covering about five kilometres to reach Spanish territory.
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migrants → reach → territory
Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the distance is shorter.
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distance → attempt → Belyounech
On the Moroccan side of the border, thousands of migrants streamed into the town of Fnideq overnight despite a reinforced deployment of security that foiled most attempts to cross.
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that → stream → attempts
Although the crossing appeared blocked, groups moved along the coast seeking routes around the fence.
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groups → appear → fence
Some prepared to swim.
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Some → prepare → ?
"I was late," said Brahim, 32, who gave only one name.
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who → say → name
He said he had arrived from Tangier hoping to cross through the gate but found it effectively shut.
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it → say → gate
Among those hoping to cross were women and children, from both Morocco and sub-Saharan African countries further south.
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women → hop → Morocco
In a post on X, Spain's Guardia Civil police association AUGC said there had been too few police in place to monitor the fence during the surge on Thursday, making them unable to stop it.
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them → say → it
Migration is a sensitive issue across Europe, where right-wing parties have surged in the decade since a 2015 crisis when more than a million people crossed the continent mainly on foot and sought asylum, most fleeing war in Syria.
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most → surge → Syria
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said he had already issued instructions "to immediately step up checks at the Spanish border."
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he → say → border
Nunez's statement did not spell out what that meant in practice and there was no immediate response to a request from the ministry for further comment.
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that → spell → comment
There are normally no checks at borders between members of the EU's internal Schengen Area, though they can be introduced for a limited time in exceptional circumstances.
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they → be → circumstances
Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her country was prepared "to intervene with extraordinary measures to defend the borders and the safety of citizens, including the suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain."
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country → say → Spain
Finland's interior minister, also from a right-wing party, praised Meloni's proposal and said the EU should follow Italy's lead.
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EU → praise → lead
While Spain's Socialist government says it remains firm over illegal crossings
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it → say → crossings
, it says immigrants help strengthen the economy and has offered a mass amnesty that saw hundreds of thousands of people seek citizenship over the past year.
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thousands → say → year
"The images coming from Ceuta show how the Madrid Government's decision to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to over 500,000 irregular immigrants is profoundly wrong and encourages human trafficking," Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote.
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Tajani → come → trafficking
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares replied that Tajani's message was "inappropriate," and said Spain expected "solidarity and not partisan demagoguery" from its partner.
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Spain → reply → partner
He added he would summon the Italian ambassador to protest.
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he → add → ambassador
The Aporia
