Spain Says Migrant Surge in Ceuta Is Easing

Spain announced that it had succeeded in halting the massive influx of migrants into the North African enclave of Ceuta. The interior ministry said that about half of the estimated 50,000 people who had crossed the border by land or sea since Thursday had already returned voluntarily to Morocco. The numbers could not be verified.

Moroccan security forces used batons and tear gas in an attempt to prevent further incursions. Military vehicles were deployed on the Spanish side of the border. Several hundred migrants decided to return after failing to find food or shelter in Ceuta.

Local government president Juan Jesús Vivas estimated that as many as 60,000 people had crossed the border and that 34 had died, these different numbers could also not be verified independently. Spanish authorities had previously reported finding 19 bodies in the water.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the mass border crossing as a violation of Spain's territorial sovereignty and announced that the return of migrants would be expedited in cooperation with Morocco.

The incident sparked controversy in Europe. France tightened controls at its border with Spain, and Italy threatened to suspend Spain's participation in the Schengen Area. Rome also criticized Spain's migration policy, including this year's amnesty for hundreds of thousands of migrants without residence permits.

(Reuters, bak)