Ceuta’s leader says 100 died in border rush as up to 5,000 still in enclave

What the report says

Ceuta’s local leader told the European Parliament on Thursday that at least 100 people died during a recent mass crossing from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting based on Reuters. Juan Jesus Vivas said the enclave is still dealing with the aftermath of the surge, with an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 migrants remaining in the city. He spoke in Brussels before the Parliament’s civil liberties committee.

The article says Spanish authorities had reported that about 72,000 people swam or crossed on foot into Ceuta over two days last week, making it one of the largest movements into EU territory in recent years. Vivas described the situation as overwhelming for Ceuta’s reception centres and said local officials had warned Madrid before the surge, but their concerns were not acted on. He also said Moroccan officials had not engaged with Ceuta during the crisis.

EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner said Spain had assured Brussels that the episode would not affect the Schengen passport-free travel zone. He nevertheless argued that the crisis exposed a wider weakness in European border management because it depends heavily on cooperation from a neighboring state. The report also notes that Spain’s government did not attend the hearing, while the European Commission did. Separately, Morocco rejected blame for the surge, saying Spain should have anticipated the impact of a court ruling on deportations.