Ceuta: Chaos at Spain border as vehicles torched and thousands of migrants rush from Morocco

At least 18 people have died while attempting to cross into Ceuta from Morocco as tens of thousands more poured into the Spanish enclave.Soldiers and police have been deployed to the North African territory after local authorities pleaded for reinforcements from the Spanish government to manage the border crisis that boiled over late last night.Some 49,000 migrants are estimated to have crossed into the enclave over the past 24 hours, Spain's Interior ⁠Ministry said this morning.Local authorities urged the government to declare a national emergency as overwhelmed border guards struggled to deal with the influx, and protests have already broken out by residents amid the rising tensions.Soldiers patrol near the Spanish-Moroccan border in Ceuta, Spain, July 31, 2026. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer (Reuters)Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers described the situation as a "serious humanitarian crisis.""People are still entering.,” he said. “The reinforcements that have arrived are only helping the injured and other humanitarian efforts.”Without shelter, thousands of people, including unaccompanied children, were abandoned to sleep in parks and sidewalks, with others roaming the streets aimlessly, he said the “chaos”.Among the 18 people who died, many drowned but some were also killed in the stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, Sbihi said.A boy from Morocco arrives at the Spanish border, in Ceuta, Spain, July 31, 2026, as migrants cross into Ceuta by sea and land. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer (Reuters)Ceuta and its sister city Melilla are heavily fortified, as they represent ​the European Union's ‌only land border ⁠with Africa. Both cities ⁠periodically experience surges in attempted crossings ‌by people ​seeking to ‌reach Europe.To reach Ceuta, people often swim for over three miles from the Moroccan town of Fnideq to reach Spanish territory. Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the distance is shorter."It was very tough. The police tried to stop us. But our will and determination allowed us to come here," Jadid Zacaria, his hair and shirt still wet from the ocean, said in an interview yesterday.Some of the shouted, "Long live Spain" as they entered the territory.Footage circulating on social media shows hundreds of people desperately climbing the rocky shores of Ceuta as they exited the water.Although the border crossing appeared blocked, groups moved along the coast seeking ⁠routes around the fence and some prepared to swim. "I was late," said Brahim, 32, who gave ​only one ⁠name. He said he had arrived from ‌Tangier hoping to cross through the gate but found it effectively shut.Among those hoping to cross into the enclave of 85,000 were women and children as well from Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa.A vehicle burns at the site of clashes near Fnideq (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP via Getty Images) (AFP/Getty)Moroccan authorities deployed ‌water cannon trucks and reinforced security at the crossing-gates, repeatedly pushing back ‌the crowds of people.Nearby stood the charred remains of a bus and seven vehicles, left after clashes that erupted as authorities sought to stop them.One man recalled with horror how he got caught in a stampede ⁠during an attempted crossing."I feared for my life," he said, declining to give his name, as he described chaotic scenes of people pushing and stepping on one another along a narrow coastal route.Vehicles burn in Fnideq, Morocco, July 31, 2026, as migrants (not pictured) wait for a chance to cross to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Ahmed El Jechtimi (Reuters)Traffic clogged roads into Fnideq as people, including a number of children, continued to pour in. Some trudged along the highway into the city late into the night, while others took mountain paths to avoid checkpoints.Security forces repeatedly turned back people making concerted rushes on the crossing through the night hours, while migrants regrouped on roads, hills and ‌open spaces across the city.Spain's Socialist government stands out in Europe for its pro-migrant stance, and ​has recently launched a programme to provide legal status for some 500,000 undocumented migrants, triggering an ‌influx of applications double that number.People gather on a hilltop as smoke billows from the site of clashes near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026 (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP via Getty Images) (AFP/Getty)Early on ⁠Friday, Fatima Mahli, 23, sat with her two daughters on a patch of grass beside the ⁠road to the crossing.The resident of Morocco's northern city of Tetouan said her husband had left before dawn to try to ‌swim to Ceuta."I thought I ​could cross by foot through the border. But ‌we are stuck here, unable to go back home," ​she said."I was hoping to cross as a family but my husband woke up early and went first, swimming."