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The migration crisis Ceuta is experiencing is unprecedented in the Spanish autonomous city's history. Over the last few days, 40,000 migrants, mostly Moroccan, ... have entered Ceuta illegally, the majority of them on Thursday and in the early hours of Friday morning, according to initial estimates from the security forces.
Other sources within the security operation have put the figure at around 49,000 people, although they warn that there is still no final official count.
The relentless flow of irregular entries, as well as the departures of Moroccans who are deciding of their own accord to return to their country after a few hours on Spanish territory, has so far resulted in 19 drownings.
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That figure of 40,000 migrants arriving in the space of just a few hours is equivalent to almost half of the 83,600 registered inhabitants of the autonomous city. The highest estimate is close to 60 per cent of its population.
The influx has far exceeded the crisis of May 2021, when more than 10,000 people entered Ceuta after Morocco relaxed border controls. At that time, the migration crisis dragged on for months and by no means did all the irregular migrants successfully return.
At times, the influx has reached 300 people per hour, according to sources within the state security forces. The city has been completely overwhelmed. Thousands of young people have spent the night in parks, squares, doorways, on rooftops and in the hills near the residential areas, while others have wandered through the city centre and along the seafront promenades with nowhere to stay and no particular destination in mind.
Many of the new arrivals have remained in their swimwear, wet clothes or with a plastic bag as their only luggage.
The flow did not stop during the early hours of Friday morning. Thousands of people continued crossing from Morocco on foot along the Tarajal breakwater, without any effective opposition from Morocco's security forces. At the same time, hundreds of those who had entered in the preceding hours have begun to return to Morocco via the same crossing point.
Residents of Castillejos
Among those who have returned are many residents of Castillejos and other nearby towns who spent a few hours in Ceuta and decided to return home. Some found that they had no accommodation, no food and no immediate way of travelling on to the mainland. Others have returned after spending the night out in the open.
The number of people returning has slightly reduced the number of migrants in the city, but this has not offset the continued influx of new arrivals. Police sources have explained that these are two simultaneous movements, with groups moving in opposite directions through the same border crossing.
The security operation in Tarajal changed in the early hours of the morning. Army vehicles blocked the exit thousands of people had used on Thursday. Migrants who have continued to arrive have been directed along a route to the warehouses in the border industrial area.
The measure has helped to partially clear the road linking the border with the rest of Ceuta, although it has shifted the congestion towards the access roads to the industrial area, the road leading up to the Príncipe neighbourhood and the area around the Tarajal health centre. For hours, long queues of people have formed among ambulances, tactical vehicles and police patrols.
Sources within the security forces deployed in the area state that the immediate objective has been to prevent further groups from spreading out across the town centre. The units that were on duty on Thursday were left exhausted after a day of continuous arrivals, sea rescues, medical transfers and efforts to organise the people reaching Spanish territory.
The increased military and police presence has made it possible to better manage the influx, but not to stop it. The route along the breakwater has, in fact, remained open throughout the morning. Most people have not had to swim, but have made their way along the beach and through the shallow waters until they crossed the border.
The Guardia Civil have kept six boats near the breakwater. Swimmers have continued to appear in the water among numerous flotation devices, although the majority of the flow has been concentrated at the footbridge next to the border wall.
The emergency services deployed in the area have not ruled out the possibility that they may find more bodies in the water.
Young men, women, entire families, young children, unaccompanied minors and elderly people have passed through Tarajal, which has also detected the arrival of sub-Saharan Africans, although police sources have indicated that the vast majority of those arriving are Moroccans.
Spanish security forces believe that there is still a very large number of potential migrants near Castillejos.
Barricades
Several clouds of smoke have risen above Castillejos following a night of barricades, fires and clashes. Groups of young people have thrown stones from the hills at Moroccan units blocking certain land access routes.
Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, Morocco staged a show of force. The authorities deployed riot police, armoured vehicles, tear gas and water cannons to disperse those approaching by road or attempting to reach the fence.
Such controls have not been enforced with the same rigour along the coast. State security sources have indicated that Moroccan units have closed off certain access points and secured the fence, but have allowed thousands of people to continue moving along the beach just a few metres from their positions.
Surveillance has been selective. Morocco has suppressed some attempts to approach by land, but has not effectively cut off the route via the breakwater. Following the deployment in the afternoon and the clashes during the night, crossings along the coast continued into the early hours and the morning.
The Spanish authorities do not consider the crisis to be over. In addition to the ongoing gathering at Castillejos, the circulation on social media of messages falsely claiming that the border had been opened has led to people travelling from other towns in northern Morocco.
The temporary immigrant accommodation centre is now completely full. The facility, built to accommodate 512 residents, has already housed more than 1,000 people, according to sources familiar with the situation. A further 1,000 people are staying outside, waiting for a place that cannot be guaranteed.
Resources allocated to minors have also reached their limit. Ceuta has reopened the Piniers centre and a building belonging to the SAMU foundation in Tarajal, while attempting to set up new facilities to provide temporary accommodation for children and teenagers.
The warehouses in the industrial area have become the main reception point for reception and identification procedures. The pace of arrivals has exceeded the capacity of the facility.
More than 300 migrants received medical attention at the A&E department on Thursday. The health services treated cases of exhaustion, injuries, bruises and problems resulting from swimming across the border.
The National and the Local Police have stepped up patrols in the city centre and in the residential areas. The priority has been to prevent incidents, respond to reports and locate children who have entered the city on their own or become separated from their families.
Many residents stayed at home during the early hours. Several shops remained closed and some cafés in the city centre did not open at their usual time. Ambulances, military vehicles and police patrols dominated the city's traffic.
The pressure has also spread to Melilla. Shortly after 10pm on Thursday, large groups attempted to enter the city simultaneously via Barrio Chino, Farhana, the Dique Sur and the area around Beni Enzar.
President of the regional government of Melilla Juan José Imbroda has estimated that between 300 and 400 people have managed to enter. The government delegation has not confirmed this figure because operations were still under way when the estimate was made.
The Beni Enzar border crossing has remained closed throughout the morning, leading to a build-up of hundreds of vehicles taking part in operation 'Paso del Estrecho'. Guardia Civil patrols have been guarding the access points, while military lorries have been moving into the perimeter.
The special operation concluded shortly after 7.30am, although the authorities have kept the main border crossing closed and have not provided a final assessment. The security forces have declared the most intense phase of the night to be under control, but have maintained a watchful eye in case of further attempts.