CEUTA, Spain — Approximately 60,000 migrants crossed into Spain’s Ceuta from Morocco within a 24-hour period, Ceuta's president Juan Jesús Vivas said on Friday, describing the situation as "absolutely unsustainable."

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on the same day and condemned the border breach, calling it "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity." Sánchez attributed the crisis to human smugglers who "deceive so many young people, and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths — whether in the ocean or, as in this case, at Spain’s border in the autonomous city of Ceuta."

Spain’s interior ministry, which initially withheld estimates, later announced that about 50,000 people had crossed from Morocco since Thursday.

Tragically, at least 34 people died during the crossing. Sbihi reported that some drowned, while others were killed in a stampede attempting to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, near a border checkpoint with Morocco.

Ahmed Karim, a 33-year-old Moroccan migrant, said he crossed into Ceuta due to a lack of jobs in Morocco.

Sánchez also noted that an interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling had rapidly spread through human trafficking networks, triggering the mass surge of migrants.

The Spanish government issued a statement clarifying that the crisis was unrelated to the regularization of migrants adopted by the Government of Spain, countering false claims circulating after an announcement by Meloni.

Meanwhile, in Bni Nsar, the Moroccan town bordering Ceuta, migrants clashed with police, throwing rocks and setting police vehicles on fire, according to local media and rights groups.

Sources