Spain Installs Sea Barrier After Deadly Mass Migrant Crossing into Ceuta

AP

The border crisis boiled over Thursday and continued Friday with security forces clashing with migrants on the Moroccan side of the border.

Spain said overnight migrant crossings into its North African enclave of Ceuta had come to a halt as authorities began installing a 500-metre floating barrier along the border with Morocco on Saturday, following a mass crossing that left at least 67 people dead.

According to Spanish authorities, around 50,000 migrants 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. Spain said more than 48,000 of those who entered had returned voluntarily to Morocco within 48 hours without major incident.

The Civil Guard began installing the floating barrier at 7:50 a.m. (0550 GMT) along the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main routes used by migrants attempting to reach the Spanish enclave, the government said in a statement.

According to Reuters, officials said the inflatable barrier, supported by a line of anchored buoys, will extend between 30 and 70 centimetres above the water and up to one metre below the surface. A navigation channel between the barriers will allow Civil Guard patrol vessels to monitor the area.

Spanish authorities said at least 67 bodies had been recovered on the Spanish side of the border. Some migrants drowned, while others were crushed as they attempted to climb the breakwater and border fence. Officials said many had been driven by economic hardship and encouraged by misinformation circulating on social media.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska accused people-smuggling networks of exploiting vulnerable migrants and spreading misleading claims about a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling stating that migrants intercepted at sea cannot be summarily returned where no physical border barrier exists.

Speaking in Ceuta, Grande-Marlaska said Spain had largely restored order within 24 hours but stressed that the situation had not yet been fully resolved. He added that reinforced police and military deployments would remain in place for as long as necessary, although attempted crossings had fallen to virtually zero overnight.

"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.

Ceuta and Spain's other North African enclave, Melilla, are located on Morocco's Mediterranean coast and have long been key entry points for migrants attempting to reach Europe.

The latest mass crossing has exposed divisions within the European Union, with several member states urging Spain to contain the situation. On Saturday, 22 EU governments called for an emergency meeting of interior ministers, urging the bloc to help Madrid restore control of its border with Morocco.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also called for an urgent meeting of EU interior ministers but criticised governments that had advocated suspending Spain's participation in the Schengen passport-free travel area.

Italy's government announced on Friday that it would suspend Schengen arrangements with Spain for one month.

"In the current international context, the EU cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction," Sánchez wrote.

In a letter addressed to Ireland, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, the 22 governments said the mass crossings posed a challenge to the EU's external border and risked encouraging further irregular migration.

According to Reuters, the signatories called for a coordinated European response, including possible additional support from the EU border agency Frontex and a review of cooperation with Morocco. France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Ireland did not sign the letter.

The Spanish government stressed that migrants who entered Ceuta irregularly could not travel onward to mainland Spain or elsewhere within the Schengen area.

The Foreign Ministry said travellers leaving Ceuta by sea or air are subject to police identity checks, providing a second layer of border control in addition to the land frontier with Morocco.

Unlike many European countries, Spain has pursued a more open migration policy, including a programme to regularise the status of more than half a million undocumented migrants. However, Madrid rejected claims that the scheme had encouraged the surge into Ceuta, noting that applicants must prove they were living in Spain before 1 January 2026 and have maintained at least five consecutive months of residence before applying.

Following a visit to Ceuta on Friday, Sánchez described the mass crossings as a violation of Spain's territorial sovereignty and said the return of migrants to Morocco was being accelerated in cooperation with Moroccan authorities.



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