Spain Deploys Troops to Ceuta After Thousands of Migrants Overwhelm Border

Spain has deployed just 60 troops to its North African exclave of Ceuta after thousands of migrants overwhelmed security forces and stormed across the border from Morocco, with up to 30,000 more people reportedly swarming the frontier.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said the military contingent consisted of three platoons of 20 soldiers each, sent to reinforce the Guardia Civil after officers admitted that the border had “totally collapsed.” Madrid also dispatched specialized police units, bringing their total number to around 200, as well as 30 additional Guardia Civil officers.

The small military deployment came after Ceuta’s regional government pleaded with Madrid to take “decisive” action, close the border and declare a national emergency, warning that local police, hospitals and migrant reception facilities had been overwhelmed.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government rejected the emergency request, arguing that migration does not qualify under legislation covering natural disasters, major accidents and other national catastrophes.

The soldiers were ordered to support the Guardia Civil “in the exercise of its powers” and perform any additional tasks deemed necessary to maintain security. However, Madrid announced no expanded rules of engagement or independent authority for the troops to seal the frontier, detain migrants or carry out expulsions. Their publicly defined role therefore remains one of supporting the police rather than taking control of the border.

Footage showed large groups swimming around the Tarajal breakwater using inflatable tubes, climbing border structures and rushing through an opened gate as overwhelmed officers struggled to contain the flow. Moroccan forces later deployed reinforcements and used water cannon to disperse crowds gathering near the Bab Ceuta crossing.

“The situation is absolute chaos,” local Civil Guard chief Rachid Sbihi told AP. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing,” he said, adding that the border had “totally collapsed.”

Spanish state television initially reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people had crossed the border, while local outlet Ceuta al Día claimed that around 20,000 had arrived. Antena 3 cited Guardia Civil sources as estimating that almost 40,000 people had swarmed the frontier, although it acknowledged that the figure was approximate. Thousands more were reportedly traveling toward the border from Tangier, Tetouan, Fez, Rabat, Casablanca and other Moroccan cities.

Fourteen bodies were recovered from the sea around Ceuta within 24 hours, but no deaths have been attributed to clashes with Spanish or Moroccan security forces. The victims are believed to have died while attempting the maritime crossing.

Sanchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska are scheduled to visit Ceuta on Friday. Spain and Morocco have meanwhile promised closer coordination and the rapid return of migrants who entered illegally, although Madrid has not explained how that pledge will be reconciled with a recent Supreme Court ruling restricting the summary expulsion of people arriving by sea.