Spanish authorities say at least 34 people have died during the sudden and startling invasion of the tiny Spanish territory of Ceuta in Morocco.
Reports initially said thousands of people were overrunning the small province in northern Africa, but authorities have since said that the invasion grew to tens of thousands of migrants.
‘Ceuta is a Spanish city, and what happened yesterday deserves our full reproach, our condemnation at the strongest possible level of rejection, condemnation and consideration as deplorable.’
Spain’s Ministry of the Interior said about 25,000 migrants had been expelled from Ceuta back to Morocco and 150 migrants were being removed per minute.
Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, said about 60,000 migrants had overrun the province and also reported the official number of those dead so far.
He went on to call the situation “absolutely unsustainable” and criticized the government’s response as action “taken too late and insufficiently.”
Despite the claims of the interior ministry, some videos on social media apparently show the migrants continuing to stream in while troops look on.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez referred to the invasion as an “attack” on his country and “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity” at a news conference Friday.
“Ceuta is a Spanish city, and what happened yesterday deserves our full reproach, our condemnation at the strongest possible level of rejection, condemnation and consideration as deplorable.”
RELATED: Mamdani vows to protect migrants in apparent DEFIANCE of Supreme Court ruling on TPS
Adri Salido/Getty Images
Some suspect that the invasion was sparked by a Spanish Supreme Court decision which found that migrants crossing by land could be expelled without due process, but those who entered the country by sea required documentation before they were deported.
The U.S. State Dept. also issued a statement decrying the illegal crossings into Spain.
“The United States stands with the people of Spain, and all Europeans, against this egregious violation of their sovereignty and human rights,” the statement read.
“This unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government’s deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe,” the agency added. “We are considering actions to defend Americans at home and abroad from this threat and stand ready to assist other European allies considering similar options.”
RELATED: ‘Absolute chaos’: THOUSANDS of migrants OVERRUN border into Spain from Morocco — at least 9 people dead
France 24 reported that most of the migrants were Moroccan and were seeking jobs in Europe. Migrants told them it took up to four hours to swim into Ceuta from Morocco.
A local workers’ association leader told CBS News it had become a major humanitarian crisis with thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, sleeping in parks and on the sidewalks.
Sánchez accused “human trafficking mafias” of exploiting the ruling by the Supreme Court.
“This demands one of the strongest condemnations, particularly of the human trafficking mafias that deceive many young people, many of whom find death, whether in the ocean or at this border,” he added.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Read the full article here
