Ceuta, Spain, en.SERU.co.id – Between 50,000 and 60,000 people, mostly Moroccan nationals, crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco over roughly 48 hours starting on 30 July 2026, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. The sudden influx overwhelmed the city of about 85,000 residents and marked the largest migration surge between the two countries in recent years.
Spanish authorities reported that most people entered by swimming around the Tarajal breakwater or crossing land barriers. Morocco’s Interior Ministry put the number heading to Ceuta at around 40,000, with another 1,135 stopped from reaching Melilla.
The death toll continued to rise as more bodies were recovered. Early figures from Spanish officials put the death toll at least 57. By 2 August, the Spanish government’s delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez Triano, told reporters the latest confirmed figure stood at 72. Moroccan authorities separately reported 11 deaths, mostly by drowning. Ceuta’s local leader, Juan Jesus Vivas, said the city’s morgue had received 88 bodies, a figure that included some earlier smaller crossing attempts.
By the following day, more than 48,000 people had returned to Morocco, either voluntarily or under escort by Spanish security forces.
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Social media posts circulating on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp played a central role. Many messages claimed Spain’s border was open after a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier in the summer. The ruling stated that migrants intercepted at sea could not be immediately returned without individual processing and access to protection procedures. Online accounts presented the decision as meaning entry to Europe was now straightforward and without consequences.
A 16-year-old Moroccan, Ayoub El Abyad, told Reuters he decided to travel after watching Instagram videos of people crossing.
“Migration is about improving our lives. We agreed we would try the idea of crossing and trust in Allah,” he said from the Moroccan side of the border.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez blamed human-trafficking networks for using what he described as “a self-serving interpretation” of the Supreme Court ruling. Morocco’s Interior Ministry spokesman Rachid El Khalfi said the crossings resulted from “the malicious exploitation of digital platforms, the dissemination of misleading information, the role of human trafficking networks, and the misinterpretation of legal and administrative information.”
Economic Pressures and Border Conditions
Economic hardship in Morocco contributed to the numbers. Official data show that about one in four Moroccans aged 15 to 24 is not in education, employment or training. Many young people from northern towns near the border had long sought opportunities in Europe.
Some migrants reported that Moroccan police appeared to ease controls or directed people toward the border. Spanish officials and several independent researchers noted the scale of the movement raised questions about coordination on the Moroccan side. Moroccan authorities rejected claims of deliberate relaxation and pointed instead to online disinformation and trafficking groups.
Spain has since tightened security around Ceuta, including plans for maritime markers, and is reviewing immigration procedures. European interior ministers were scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on external border management. Most of those who entered have now left the enclave, though the episode has left lasting political and humanitarian effects on both sides of the border.
