Full Alert! Spain Deploys Military to Repel Illegal Immigrants in Ceuta
Thousands of migrants have reportedly breached the territory of Ceuta, Spain, from Morocco. Spain has deployed its military to reinforce the police in the area, which shares a direct border with Morocco.
According to Reuters on Friday (31/07/2026), thousands of migrants flooded the Ceuta region via sea and land. Authorities are attempting to close off other Spanish enclaves nearby.
State broadcaster TVE reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people crossed into Ceuta on Thursday (30/07). Reuters has not yet been able to independently confirm these figures.
Video footage shows hundreds of migrants swimming or floating on inner tubes from the Moroccan side, while others breached land gates and ran into the city. According to eyewitness accounts provided to Reuters, in Fnideq—a Moroccan town located just outside the Ceuta border—Moroccan authorities used water cannons against migrants in an attempt to prevent them from crossing.
“It is very difficult. The police are trying to stop us. But our will and determination allowed us to get here,” said Jadid Zacaria, a migrant whose hair and clothes were still wet from the sea, during an interview in Ceuta as migrants swarmed the nearby border gates.
Some migrants were heard shouting, “Long live Spain!” as they entered the territory.
In Melilla, Spain’s second autonomous city in North Africa, footage from local media and human rights organisations showed clashes at the Beni Ansar border point on Thursday night. This has been the only open crossing between Morocco and Melilla for the past six years.
According to Omar Naji from the Moroccan Human Rights Association, at least three vehicles were burnt, and there were reports of injuries among both migrants and security forces. The discovery of nine bodies in Ceuta brings the death toll to 60 migrants who have died attempting to cross into the territory in recent months.
The government stated that 200 special police officers and 60 soldiers have arrived from mainland Spain to reinforce Ceuta’s regular forces. It remains unclear whether reinforcements have been sent to Melilla, and authorities have not immediately commented.
Shops Closed
Many shops in Ceuta have closed. Enrique Serrano, who runs a women’s clothing store, told Reuters that business owners are organising self-defence as they believe police resources will be insufficient.
“I will not open this afternoon because the situation is very tense… The first thing I must do is protect my business and my family,” he said, adding that hundreds of migrants breached the border fences within minutes during the early hours of Thursday.