After Most Migrants Leave Ceuta, Exhausted Holdouts Find Shelter on Beach

What the report says

Most of the migrants who crossed into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta during a sudden surge on Thursday have since gone back to Morocco, according to The New York Times. But the report says a small group remained on the seafront, where they were described as exhausted, hungry and determined not to leave. The scene highlights how quickly the mass crossing has thinned out, even as a few people continue to hold out at the shoreline.

Ceuta, which sits on the Mediterranean coast opposite Morocco, has long been a sensitive crossing point in relations between Spain and Morocco. In this case, the article focuses on the aftermath of the brief influx rather than on the crossing itself, showing how many of the arrivals were turned back or otherwise returned shortly after entering. The remaining migrants were sheltering on the beach while waiting to see what might happen next.

The situation matters because Ceuta is one of the European Union’s land borders in Africa and has often been at the center of migration and border-control tensions. The Times’ account suggests that, even after the larger wave receded, the episode left behind a small but visible group of stranded people facing uncertainty at the edge of Spanish territory.