Thousands of migrants have crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco, overwhelming border security and prompting local authorities to call for a national emergency and military deployment.
Migrants broke through border fences after surging past police at the city's Tarajal breakwater, Spain's Guardia Civil said. Video footage showed some migrants swimming from the Moroccan side using inflatable inner tubes and other flotation devices, while others rushed through a gate and ran into the city.
A Guardia Civil spokesperson said the migrants were "massively entering from the sea" through the Tarajal breakwater. Spain's public broadcaster TVE reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people had crossed.
Ceuta's regional leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, of Spain's centre-right People's Party, urged the centre-left government in Madrid to declare a national emergency in a filmed address alongside politicians from different parties.
He also called on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's PSOE-led government to deploy the army and reinforce security forces in Ceuta.
"At the same time, we want to convey to the entire citizenry serenity and calm; this is not the first time that Ceuta finds itself in a critical situation like the current one," he added.
In May 2021, around 10,000 people from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa entered the Spanish coastal exclave over several days in a similar incident. The city has a population of about 83,500.
Ceuta, together with Melilla, another Spanish autonomous city in North Africa, forms the European Union's only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Sánchez said the government was mobilising all necessary resources to provide immediate assistance to Ceuta but did not give specific details.
"We are mobilizing all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible.
"This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation," he said in a statement on X.
Spain's national government recently launched a programme to provide legal status for around 500,000 undocumented migrants, prompting a surge in applications. Right-wing parties criticised the initiative, arguing it would encourage more migrants to travel to Spain.
Morocco's Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read more from Spain:
Türkiye is set to receive Russian diesel under a U.S.-backed agreement, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Sunday, as Ankara pushes a...
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Tajikistan on Sunday for an official visit and a major regional summit, with security, trade and transport link...
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington ...
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
What started out as planned protests against the cost of living, declining public services and education funding in France, quickly devolved into violent riots across the country on Saturday.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said late Sunday.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Tajikistan on Sunday for an official visit and a major regional summit, with security, trade and transport links high on the agenda as Beijing strengthens its ties with Central Asia.
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington seeks to strengthen its presence in the strategically important region.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has cut monthly food assistance to 500,000 people in Gaza amid severe funding shortages, with around two-thirds of the population facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.
Strong winds that fuelled a deadly grass fire are what killed four Canadian soldiers and sent 39 people to hospital at a military training area in Alberta, Canada, according to authorities. 19 people remain in critical condition. The winds caused the flames to spread rapidly.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment