Local officials in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta urged the government in Madrid to declare a national emergency as thousands of migrants bypassed border security and entered the territory from Morocco.

Viral footage showed large groups of people walking around the breakwaters at Tarajal beach onto local roads.

Most of the people in the footage appeared to be young men.

Watch below:

More from the Associated Press:

Spain’s interior ministry said it would guarantee the safety of citizens and the integrity of the nation’s border, but that the government could not declare a national emergency over migration concerns.

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“The situation is absolute chaos,” said Rachid Sbihi, head of the association that represents Spain’s Civil Guard officers in Ceuta, who police the border. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing,” he said, adding that the border had “totally collapsed.”

Achraf Maimouni, a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights in northern Morocco, described the situation as ‘’exceptional.’’

“The Tarajal border was opened under unusual circumstances this morning and people crossed,’’ he said.

Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of Ceuta, urged the deployment of additional police and soldiers to ensure the safety of citizens.

Migrant centers reportedly were overwhelmed, with hundreds of people sleeping on the streets.

Local officials released a video urging a national emergency declaration due to the “massive influx of migrants.”

Watch below:

The Guardian shared further:

Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, said his government would provide “an immediate response” to the situation in Ceuta, which echoes the border crisis in 2021 when more than 8,000 people arrived in just two days.

“We’re mobilising all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible,” he said in a post on X.

“I just conveyed this to President Vivas. This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation.”

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This month ​Spain’s supreme court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta – or Spain’s other north African territory of Melilla – could not be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border rejection regime.

The Guardia Civil spokesperson told Reuters: “It has been a slow trickle since the supreme Court’s ruling, but today has been an explosion.”

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative opposition People’s party, to which Vivas belongs, said the situation was desperate. “The government can’t look the other way,” he added, “because we are facing a national security crisis.”

Santiago Abascal, who leads the far-right Vox party, described the incident as an “invasion” and said those crossing into Ceuta were not fleeing war or poverty but had been summoned by Sánchez’s government to ensure he could remain in power.

Moroccan government sources attributed the surge to “criminal organisations” and insisted that the country’s cooperation with Spain remained “exemplary”.

 

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