Spain calls mass migration to Ceuta a territorial threat

The Spanish Defence Ministry believes the mass arrival of illegal migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa was not a migration crisis but rather an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity, Ceuta Mayor Juan Jesus Vivas said on Wednesday (12/8).

“The Minister [of Defence Margarita Robles] agrees with us that what happened in Ceuta on 30 July was not a migration crisis. She agrees with us that what happened on 30 July was very serious because it was an attack on the territorial integrity of Spain,” Vivas told reporters.

Therefore, the defence minister promised the ministry would deploy as many resources as necessary, without any limitations, to guarantee the security of the border between Spain and Morocco, he said.

When asked for comment on rumours of a curfew being imposed in the city, Vivas admitted he had no such information.

“But I urge the residents of Ceuta to be cautious. There were 10,000 people who came to Ceuta in a single day, and we do not know who they are or what they are like,” he said.

At the end of July, Ceuta faced a massive wave of illegal migration from Morocco. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said around 72,000 migrants arrived in Spain from Morocco, with around 70,000 of them having since returned.