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‘No food in Ceuta’, ‘kicked badly’: Why thousands of migrants returned day after entering Spain
Out of the 60,000 people who crossed into Ceuta between Thursday and Friday morning, around 45,000 returned to Morocco within hours.
Thousands of migrants who entered Spain's small territory of Ceuta began returning voluntarily to Morocco on Friday, a day after the large-scale crossing sparked chaos and left at least 57 people dead. Spanish authorities said most of the more than 50,000 migrants who had entered by land and sea were already making their way back on their own.
To reach Ceuta, some migrants swam for miles, while others encountered authorities who attempted to stop them using water cannons, tear gas and warning shots. Among those who lost their lives were people who drowned, while others died in a stampede.
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Why are migrants returning now?
Moroccan security forces used batons and tear gas to push back crowds gathered at the entrances to Ceuta to stop more people from entering the small Spanish territory on Morocco's Mediterranean coast, news agency Reuters reported.
On the Spanish side, military vehicles were stationed along parts of the border, while dozens of migrants remained on a hill in Morocco, watching from a distance after being unable to cross.
‘No food or shelter’
Hundreds of migrants were seen making their way back into Morocco through official border crossings and gaps in the fence.
Several said they had been unable to find food or shelter after reaching Ceuta.
A young Moroccan man from Tangier told the news agency, "Honestly, I don't even know why I came, and now I'm going back. I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, even though I brought some money with me ... What we're doing is neither good nor enjoyable."
‘Kicked badly’
Ayman, a 20-year-old hairdresser from the city of Larache, said he reached Ceuta on Wednesday after swimming for five hours.
"There was no food inside Ceuta and we were kicked out badly by the (Spanish) army," he said.
A migration crisis
Out of the 60,000 people who crossed into Ceuta between Thursday and Friday morning, around 45,000 returned to Morocco within hours. Many had spent the night sleeping on the streets of the enclave as residents looked on in shock alongside armed Spanish police officers and soldiers.
The arrival of such a large number of migrants, equal to around 70% of Ceuta's population, led local authorities to call for police and military support to restore order. Residents expressed concern as thousands of mostly young men wandered through the streets.
What really led to the sudden influx?
Ceuta's authorities have linked the sharp rise in arrivals this week to a Spanish Supreme Court ruling issued earlier in July.
The court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea cannot be immediately sent back under the enclaves' "border rejection" system, which has long been used to return people caught attempting to enter.
The decision does not cover migrants who cross by land, including those who climb over the border fence.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez travelled to Ceuta on Friday and criticised the mass crossing, calling it “a violation of Spain's territorial integrity.”
He accused human smuggling networks of fuelling the crisis, saying they “deceive so many young people and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths,” whether at sea or inside the city.
Some observers believe Spain's comparatively open approach to migration may also have contributed to the situation, news agency AFP reported.
Earlier this year, the government introduced measures to grant residency and work permits to hundreds of thousands of migrants already living in Spain without legal permission.
With inputs from agencies
