CEUTA, Spain – Spain said migrant crossings into its North African enclave of Ceuta stopped overnight, as police began installing a 500m floating barrier on Saturday off its border with Morocco following a mass rush that killed at least 67 people.
Spanish authorities said about 50 000 people had crossed into Ceuta by land and sea from Thursday in an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. More than 48 000 of them returned to Morocco within 48 hours, Spain said.
EU calls emergency meeting
Civil Guard police started laying the new barrier at 7.50am (5.50am GMT) on the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main points used by people trying to enter the tiny Spanish territory, the government said in a statement.
The pneumatic barrier, alongside a line of anchored naval buoys, is designed to stand 30cm to 70cm above water and extend as much as 1m below the surface, it added, while a channel between the barriers will allow Civil Guard vessels to patrol the area.
The mass crossing prompted alarm across the European Union and 22 member states wrote a letter asking for coordinated action to protect external borders and other measures.
Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said it had called an emergency video conference meeting of the bloc’s interior ministers to discuss the crisis on Tuesday.
Spain’s centre-left Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticised Italy’s decision on Friday to suspend passport-free Schengentravel arrangements with Madrid for a month.
“In the current international context, the EU cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction,” Sanchez wrote in a letter to the EU Commission and European Council presidents.
Death toll rises
At least 67 bodies had been recovered on the Spanish side of the frontier, officials said, after some migrants drowned and others were crushed while trying to climb the breakwater and border fence.
Many were driven to migrate by economic hardship and encouraged by social media rumours.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska blamed people-smuggling networks for exploiting vulnerable migrants and spreading misleading interpretations of a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling that migrants intercepted at sea cannot be summarily returned in the absence of a physical barrier.
Speaking from Ceuta, Grande-Marlaska told reporters Spain had largely restored order within 24 hours, but warned that the crisis was not over and that reinforced police and military deployments would remain as long as needed, though overnight crossings had fallen to about zero.
“Morocco isn’t any threat to Ceuta or the rest of Spain — it’s a fully reliable partner,” he said, adding there had been no intelligence indicating a mass entry was imminent.
The AUGC union for Spain’s Civil Guard said it was asking for a reinforcement of at least 200 officers, and warned that more work was needed to stop people swimming round the new inflatable barrier.
Madrid said the people who entered Ceuta irregularly could not travel onwards to mainland Spain or elsewhere in the Schengen zone.
In a statement, the foreign ministry added that travellers leaving Ceuta by sea or air underwent police identity checks, representing a second layer of control after the land border with Morocco.
In contrast to most of Europe, Spain has adopted a more open stance on migrants, introducing a programme to grant residency to more than half a million undocumented people.
But it has rejected suggestions that the regularisation scheme had encouraged the rush into Ceuta, saying applicants must prove residence in Spain before January 1, 2026, and five continuous months of residence when applying.
Visit SW YouTube Channel for our video content
- Spain halted migrant crossings into Ceuta and began installing a 500m floating barrier off its border with Morocco after a surge that saw 50,000 migrants enter and at least 67 deaths.
- Over 48,000 migrants returned to Morocco within 48 hours, while Spanish police patrol the area through a channel in the barrier designed to prevent sea crossings.
- The European Union is holding an emergency meeting to coordinate border protection measures after 22 member states urged action on the crisis.
- Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticized Italy for suspending passport-free travel with Spain, calling it a polarizing and unlawful reaction.
- Spanish authorities blamed people-smuggling networks and social media rumors for encouraging the crisis, while maintaining reinforced deployments and tighter controls on onward travel from Ceuta.
CEUTA, Spain - Spain said migrant crossings into its
Civil Guard police started laying the new barrier at 7.50am (5.50am GMT) on the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main points used by people trying to enter the tiny
Spain's centre-left Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticised Italy's decision on Friday to suspend passport-free
"In the current international context, the EU cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction," Sanchez wrote in a letter to the EU Commission and European Council presidents.
At least 67 bodies had been recovered on the
"Morocco isn't any threat to Ceuta or the rest of Spain — it's a fully reliable partner," he said, adding there had been no intelligence indicating a mass entry was imminent.
Madrid said the people who entered Ceuta irregularly could not travel onwards to mainland Spain or elsewhere in the
In a statement, the foreign ministry added that travellers leaving Ceuta by sea or air underwent police identity checks, representing a second layer of control after the land border with Morocco.
In contrast to most of Europe, Spain has adopted a more open stance on migrants, introducing a programme to grant residency to more than half a million undocumented people.
But it has rejected suggestions that the regularisation scheme had encouraged the rush into Ceuta, saying applicants must prove residence in Spain before January 1, 2026, and five continuous months of residence when applying.
