{"id":360311,"date":"2026-08-02T19:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T19:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/360311\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T19:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T19:49:10","slug":"death-toll-from-migrant-influx-to-spanish-north-africa-outpost-rises-to-72","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/360311\/","title":{"rendered":"Death toll from migrant influx to Spanish north Africa outpost rises to 72"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AA group of migrants make their way back to Morocco from the short-stay centre CETI towards the border post, escorted by Spanish infantry soldiers. Photo \/ Henry Nicholls, AFP<\/p>\n

AFP on Saturday saw migrant minors milling around in a disused industrial park in Ceuta. Others were seen dozing on the pavements outside.<\/p>\n

The linflux into the enclave has caused an international crisis for Spain, with European partners criticising Madrid for its immigration policies.<\/p>\n

Outside a housing project near Ceuta port, Spanish soldiers detained a group of nine tired-looking migrants who were sitting on the pavement, guarded by troops with an armoured car, an AFP reporter said.<\/p>\n

Small inflatable boats from a rescue unit scoured the waters around the border barrier that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, where a new 500m floating boom reinforced security.<\/p>\n

Civil Guard were also taking migrants off a bus to escort them back to the border post to return to Morocco.<\/p>\n

The border crossing was calm, with groups of workers picking up trash, clothes and rubbish left behind during the mass crossing.<\/p>\n

Spain has blamed criminal gangs for spreading rumours that a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling on immigration would allow migrants easier passage.<\/p>\n

Some analysts suggested Morocco could allow migrants to cross the border to put diplomatic pressure on Spain, which has recently improved ties with Rabat\u2019s arch-enemy neighbouring Algeria.<\/p>\n

\"SpanishSpanish infantry soldiers watch a group of migrants sitting on the ground near the border post, prior to escorting them back to Morocco, in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Photo \/ Henry Nicholls, AFP<\/p>\n

In 2021, around 10,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta, taking advantage of Morocco easing border controls as a way to pressure Spain.<\/p>\n

Moroccan officials have so far not offered any statement on the crisis.<\/p>\n

But some of those who crossed the border said they had heard the border was open – a rumour quickly amplified on social media.<\/p>\n

The EU said it would hold a video call on Tuesday after 22 bloc members issued a joint open letter calling for an urgent meeting to agree a speedy coordinated response, and to prevent further uncontrolled crossings.<\/p>\n

Italy on Saturday implemented a one-month suspension of its Schengen agreement with Spain allowing for visa-free movement between borders.<\/p>\n

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in a letter to EU leaders, blasted the \u201cselfish\u201d reaction by some EU countries.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday spoke to the situation in Ceuta in his daily prayers on Sunday, saying he was following it \u201cwith concern\u201d and hoping for a solution of \u201cpeace, stability and justice\u201d.<\/p>\n

– AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A group of migrants make their way back to Morocco from the short-stay centre CETI towards the border…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[32191,63,147315,2781,77268,81691,1718,58241,7049,172448,6635,172451,6658,5281,6712,22488,44001,4572,165,172943,1041,49734,172443,4671,1371,172942,1720,8058,172447,103316,111017,172944,172445,19014,4822,1719,138006],"class_list":["post-360311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","tag-32191","tag-africa","tag-around","tag-border","tag-ceuta","tag-days","tag-death","tag-died","tag-during","tag-enclave","tag-from","tag-influx","tag-into","tag-least","tag-local","tag-mass","tag-migrant","tag-migrants","tag-morocco","tag-mostly","tag-north","tag-officials","tag-outpost","tag-people","tag-post","tag-recent","tag-rises","tag-said","tag-spains","tag-spanish","tag-sunday","tag-swam","tag-tens","tag-thousands","tag-to","tag-toll","tag-when"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}