57 dead after thousands breach border into Spain’s tiny Ceuta: Maps
About half of nearly 60,000 Moroccan migrants who crossed into Spain's North African territory of Ceuta in a 24-hour period have returned to Morocco, Spanish officials said Friday.
The surge erupted July 29-30, when thousands of migrants began entering Ceuta, many by swimming to breakwaters near the Tarajal border checkpoint. Some swimmers came ashore, and Spanish rescue crews picked up others from the water.
At least 57 migrant deaths have been reported. Spain has sent troops to the area.
The large number of migrants threatened to overwhelm Ceuta, a Spanish autonomous city with about 83,000 residents. Ceuta itself is about 7.5 square miles in size, about a third the size of Manhattan.
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Reasons for the surge are still unclear. The crossings started after the Spanish Supreme Court announced July 8 that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be summarily returned to Morocco under Spain’s border-rejection laws.
Spanish officials said smugglers may have exploited the court ruling.
Migrants, including many Moroccans, have been using Morocco as a route into Europe. Ceuta is Spanish territory and Spain is part of the European Union.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez characterized the surge as an "attack" and said all illegal migrants would be returned to Morocco "as soon as possible."
The border crossings caused division in Europe, where leaders of fellow EU states called for Spain to ensure that the incident was contained.
Right-wing parties around the continent blamed the incident on Spain's comparatively lax migration policies, including an amnesty granted to hundreds of thousands of unauthorized migrants this year.
Several hundred people could be seen returning to Morocco through border posts and holes in the fence, with some saying they could not find food or shelter in Ceuta, Reuters reported.
Reuters reported that Moroccan security forces used batons and tear gas at the border crossing as they tried to prevent more people from entering the Spanish territory. Reuters journalists also saw Moroccan police in riot gear using tear gas to disperse crowds near the border fence that day.
Source: USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 57 dead after thousands breach border into Spain’s tiny Ceuta: Maps