Spain sends over 25,000 migrants back to Morocco from Ceuta; dozens dead
The president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, estimated that 60,000 migrants had entered the enclave from Morocco and said that at least 34 people had died.
Spain's Ministry of the Interior said more than 25,000 migrants who arrived at the border of the tiny territory of Ceuta have been sent back to Morocco. More than 150 migrants are being removed from Ceuta per minute, the ministry said.
The statement came shortly after the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, estimated that 60,000 migrants had entered the enclave and said that at least 34 people had died, including some who drowned while swimming to reach the territory.
Most who tried to cross the border are Moroccans. Seawalls and fences separate Morocco from Ceuta, a Spanish enclave that sits on Morocco's Mediterranean coast. Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish enclave farther east, have the only land borders the European Union shares with Africa.
Local officials have blamed the sharp increase in crossings on a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling, which makes it harder to turn away migrants arriving from Morocco by sea. Vivas called the ongoing situation "absolutely unsustainable." He also criticized the government's response, saying that "action was taken too late and insufficiently."
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a Friday news conference that "all of Spain stands" with Ceuta, and called the increase in migrants "an attack" and "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity." He is expected to visit the city Friday.
"Ceuta is a Spanish city, and what happened yesterday deserves our full reproach, our condemnation at the strongest possible level of rejection, condemnation and consideration as deplorable," he said.
Videos and images from Ceuta showed crowds of people, mainly Moroccans, walking around the breakwaters at an urban beach near a border checkpoint with Morocco onto local roads. The majority looked to be young men, though there were also families with women and children.
Local workers association leader Rachid Sbihi called the situation a "serious humanitarian crisis." He said thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, slept in parks and on sidewalks.
"It's chaotic," said Sbihi, whose union represents Spanish Civil Guard officers, adding that some of the deceased had been trampled trying to cross a breakwater fence.
Sánchez said that he has asked buoys be deployed to create a "physical barrier," and said troop numbers have been increased. Spain's government has also deployed its army and sent extra forces, including diver teams and Maritime Service vessels, to Ceuta.
Sánchez said the legislature is finalizing a system to "facilitate the repatriation of migrants who entered our country irregularly." He said if neces