More than 73 000 migrants leave Spanish enclave of Ceuta

Some 73 500 migrants have already left the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and returned to Morocco after a mass breakout across the border, marking the largest migration crisis in the cityʼs history.

This is reported by the Spanish-language agency EFE.

According to estimates by Spanish security forces, this number may include not only people who entered Ceuta during the mass breakout, but also those who arrived in the city earlier, as well as migrants who may have crossed the border back and forth several times.

Some of the migrants who returned to Morocco told Reuters that they decided to leave Ceuta due to hunger, exhaustion and the inability to continue their journey to mainland Spain.

At the same time, there are still groups of migrants in Ceuta who refuse to voluntarily return to their countries. They are seen in the central areas of the city, on the outskirts, and in the mountainous areas.

These are mostly small groups of three to five people. It is difficult to establish the exact number of people remaining in the enclave. The border between the Moroccan city of Fnidek and Ceuta is operating normally again.

Approximately 3 000 security forces remain in Ceuta. The Spanish government delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez, also reported that the number of bodies found in the sea after the attempted mass border crossing had risen to 72.

• On Thursday, July 30, migrants began pouring into the Spanish city in droves, some swimming across the sea on car cameras, others breaking through border gates. Ceuta and Melilla are the EUʼs only land borders with Africa. There was a similar crisis in 2021, when almost 10 000 people arrived in Ceuta in a few days.

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