Şahin Demir
31 July 2026•Update: 31 July 2026
Clashes resumed Friday near Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta as thousands of migrants seeking to cross irregularly confronted Moroccan security forces, while Spain said around 49,000 people crossed into the territory over the previous 24 hours.
An Anadolu correspondent said Moroccan security forces prevented groups of migrants from approaching the border fence, prompting some to set fire to cars and a passenger bus near the crossing.
Security forces detained a number of migrants and transferred them to areas outside the northern Moroccan city of Fnideq while continuing to pursue others attempting to reach Ceuta, the correspondent said.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said about 49,000 people crossed into Ceuta during the previous 24 hours.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also visited the Ceuta border crossing on Friday, accompanied by Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, according to footage broadcast by local media.
The visit came a day after Spain and Morocco agreed to strengthen coordination and accelerate the return of migrants who entered Ceuta through irregular routes, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry.
Earlier this month, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla will be legally entitled to a formal processing hearing and not immediately returned.
Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city on the North African coast that is claimed by Morocco, is surrounded by border fences, prompting some migrants to attempt to reach it by swimming around the maritime barrier.
The distance between the beach at Fnideq and some coastal points near Ceuta ranges from 2 to 3 kilometers (1.2 to 1.9 miles).
Migrants from several African countries, including Morocco, continue to attempt irregular crossings to Europe, driven largely by difficult economic and social conditions.
In May 2024, Morocco’s Economic, Social and Environmental Council said around 1.5 million young people aged between 15 and 24 were neither employed nor in education or training.
In February, Morocco announced that the unemployment rate fell to 13% in 2025 from 13.3% in 2024, with the economy creating about 193,000 jobs, according to the High Commission for Planning.
