Migrant invasion of Ceuta was an 'attack', Spanish enclave's leader declares as he accuses Morocco over the 'atrocity'

By ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:29, 4 August 2026 | Updated: 09:51, 4 August 2026 Ceuta's leader has described Thursday's surge of migrants as an 'attack,' accusing Morocco of encouraging the incident.  According to Spanish officials, around 2,500 migrants remain in Ceuta, after most of the 60,000 who flooded the enclave last week have returned. The conservative president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, called the events an 'atrocity,' adding: 'There are 88 bodies in the morgue, and there are more on the other side of the border.' 'People see this not as a migration crisis; it was fundamentally an attack, a violation of Spain's territorial integrity,' Vivas told El País.  'People felt that this, if not orchestrated, was at least encouraged or permitted by Morocco.' Some analysts have suggested that Morocco might have allowed migrants to cross the border to put diplomatic pressure on Spain, which has recently improved ties with Rabat's arch-enemy neighbouring Algeria.  And arrivals in Ceuta alleged that Moroccan police officers encouraged them as they journeyed towards the enclave.  Mohammed Ahmidho, 37, who heard about the surge of migrants into Spain via social media, said he heard officers saying 'Come to Spain' as he neared the border. The president of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, Juan Jesus Vivas, has described Thursday's surge of migrants as an 'attack' Some 60,000 migrants swam into Ceuta on Thursday Migrants wait in line to receive food and beverage from the Red Cross A Spanish soldier walks past a group of migrants prior to escorting them back to Morocco People gather along the fence close to the site of clashes near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border 28-year-old Ashraf recounted swimming past bodies to reach Ceuta as the Moroccan police were pushing them toward the water and saying 'swim, swim.' Spanish officials have also accused criminal gangs of spreading rumours that a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling on immigration would allow migrants easier passage.  The court recently ruled that migrants who are stopped at sea attempting to reach Melilla or Ceuta, both Spanish enclaves, could not be summarily sent back to Morocco.  Spain's defence minister, Margarita Robles said on Monday: 'Neither Spain nor Morocco can look the other way when it comes to this tragedy.'  'I ask the Moroccan government to fully investigate what happened.'  As tensions flare between the two nations, Spain on Monday insisted its sovereignty over Ceuta was 'unquestionable'. Morocco does not recognise Ceuta and Madrid's other territory in north Africa, Melilla, as Spanish and has claimed sovereignty over them since its independence in 1956. Answering a question during televised remarks on Monday, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said: 'That Ceuta and Melilla are an integral part of Spain's territory is unquestionable, for the whole world.' On Monday, hundreds of migrants continued to sleep rough on the beach or near the mosques in the enclave.  Dozens were enduring squalid conditions in a warehouse complex, including 29-year-old Nadia. 'We don't have water to wash or shower. The showers and toilets have been closed. Frankly, we're suffering terribly,' the Moroccan said. Her friend, Asia, who had also reached Ceuta from Morocco, added: 'There's dirt and mould. The toilets are filthy. Many people use them, and there aren't enough for everyone.' The charity Save the Children said 'about 1,000' of the remaining migrants from last week's arrivals were minors who were 'unprotected'. It said Ceuta's child protection system had capacity to look after just 100. Meanwhile, family members are desperate to hear news of their loved ones who have gone missing, as Spanish authorities rush to identify the dead. 'First we have to identify them, which is the first big problem, because many of them came without any identification,' said a source in the Spanish government delegation in Ceuta who asked not to be named. 'Then we have to find out who their families are' through the Moroccan authorities, the source added. 'Then the bodies will have to be identified by the families. So it could be a long process.'  A 12-year-old unaccompanied minor who crossed into Spain is escorted by a Spanish soldier to the Spain-Morocco border Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain sleep in a warehouse area near the Spain-Morocco border Relatives and friends wait by a fence topped with barbed-wire for the return of people who had previously crossed into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta Migrants hold signs reading 'asylum' in Spanish while waiting in line to receive food and beverage from the Red Cross The small city of only 84,000 has faced a tense few days, as locals were in fear for their lives and migrants clashed with police. Video footage from Sunday showed a group of migrants carrying an injured man wrapped in a blanket who they said had been assaulted by police, while shouting 'Allahu Akbar'. Clashes followed, with footage showing Spanish National Police officers carrying batons and charging towards migrants during the demonstration. Salvador Ortega, a resident of the enclave, told the Daily Mail that locals are accustomed to seeing small numbers of migrants cross the border, but said the latest arrivals amount to what he described as an 'invasion', leaving many residents fearful and uncertain. 'There are helicopters and ambulances and police everywhere. This is an unsustainable situation that has all the marks of a national emergency, but [Sanchez] is not ready to admit fault with this premeditated invasion. 'We need the military, from all over Spain and also from the EU. We need help from the EU. The situation is disastrous, especially for those of us in the midst of it.' Spain's socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is facing growing criticism for his migration policies, sparking protests against him in the enclave and across Spain.  Videos from Friday show the PM arriving in Ceuta to boos and jeers from locals chanting 'Pedro Sanchez, son of a ****.'  Meanwhile, EU countries will seek on Tuesday to draw early lessons from the Ceuta crisis.  Since images first emerged of the mass arrivals, most of whom swam around a barrier separating the enclave from Morocco, Madrid has found itself pitted against many of its fellow capitals. Tuesday's 9am (UK time) videoconference of the bloc's interior ministers will provide a chance for countries to look for common ground - or on the contrary to dig in harder. Countries advocating a hard line have been led most vocally by Italy and Denmark whose Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sounded the alarm warning that 'uncontrolled immigration poses a threat to Europe.' Both nations last week advocated suspending Spain from the Schengen free-travel area over the crisis - a notion firmly rejected by Madrid, and which in any case is legally impossible under EU rules. Sanchez, whose government supports a relatively open approach to migration including a major push to grant legal status to undocumented migrants already in the country, hit back in a letter to the heads of the EU's institutions on Saturday. Assailing what he called a 'selfish' attitude by fellow EU countries, Sanchez was first to call for an emergency meeting of member states to work on a 'common response' to such crises. Within hours, 22 countries led by Italy, Denmark, Germany and Hungary sent a counter-letter also demanding urgent talks, but with a different goal: to continue pressing their tough stance on immigration. EU heavyweight France notably distanced itself from the initiative, saying it amounted to exploiting the situation in Ceuta for political ends. Paris also stressed that the vast majority of migrants who had crossed into the Spanish enclave had already returned to Morocco. Clashes between migrants and police following mass crossings of migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into Spanish territory Migrants carry a fellow migrant, who they say was injured when the Spanish police and military tried to contain the migrants to an area of a beach A police officer cares for a wounded migrant as they wait for an ambulance to arrive People hold flags as groups of hard-right protesters gather in front of the Moroccan embassy in madrid In a taste of what to expect on Tuesday, preparatory talks among the bloc's EU ambassadors on Monday saw Spain's envoy voice 'frustration' with a perceived lack of support from fellow capitals, according to one EU diplomat. Conversely - while all assured Madrid of their 'solidarity' - some member states 'are asking themselves if recent policies adopted by Spain have not sent the signal that the doors are open,' added the diplomat. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed the talks as a chance to draw 'lessons' for a 'common European response' to the challenges of irregular migration. The commission chief on Monday urged the bloc to 'double down' in five areas: preventing irregular migration in the first place via cooperation with partner states; strengthening external borders; implementing early warning systems; dismantling smuggling networks and reinforcing returns. Framing Tuesday's meeting as a 'first step,' von der Leyen said she expected leaders would take up the issue at their next summit, currently planned for October. The EU has significantly tightened its migration rules in recent months, including by allowing member states to send failed asylum seekers to so-called 'return hubs' located outside the bloc's borders.