Spain’s enclave Ceuta raises alarm as thousands cross border from Morocco

Estimates of up to 2,000 migrants have entered Spain’s territory of Ceuta in recent days in attempts to reach Europe.Authorities in Ceuta have raised the alarm after thousands of migrants breached the border to the North African Spanish enclave from neighbouring Morocco in recent days.The government of Ceuta said on Thursday that between 1,500 and 2,000 people had entered in the last 10 days. Hundreds more were estimated to have arrived on Thursday, prompting regional President Jesus Vivas to declare an “absolute humanitarian and social emergency” and call on Madrid to send troops to reassert control of the border.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Hundreds protest in Libya outside UN agency against undocumented migrantslist 2 of 4‘Dignity has no passport’: Pope makes appeal for migrants in Canary Islandslist 3 of 4Pope Leo urges migrant protection, integration on visit to Lampedusalist 4 of 4France’s Morocco reset: What French PM Lecornu’s visit to Rabat signalsend of listSpain’s Interior Ministry rejected calls to declare a national emergency, saying such a measure does not cover migration crises, but promised additional resources.Footage showed some of the migrants shouting “Viva Espana!” as they entered the territory, many of them having travelled by water from the Moroccan side on inflatable devices.Crowds were shown walking around the breakwaters onto local roads, reported The Associated Press news agency. State news agency EFE said others had crossed by the border by land, scaling fences.Migrant rights activist Zakaria Zarroqui told the Reuters news agency that the surge in migrant numbers was similar to one that occurred in May 2021, when some 10,000 Moroccan and sub-Saharan youths entered ⁠the enclave within days.“The situation remains out of control as we speak,” ⁠Zarroqui said, adding that people were still flocking to the Moroccan city of Fnideq in an attempt to cross the border.Ceuta, together with Melilla — another autonomous ‌Spanish city in North Africa — represents the European Union’s only land border with Africa. Both cities often experience surges in attempted crossings by people seeking to migrate to Europe.