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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
World
Terence Repelente

Why Are Thousands of Moroccans Risking Their Lives to Reach Spain? Inside the Deadly Ceuta Border Rush

Migrants cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on 30 July 2026, as authorities declared a humanitarian emergency. (Credit: Screenshot from x/Twitter/@Inevitablewest)

Thousands of migrants have risked drowning to reach Spain's Ceuta enclave from Morocco, turning one of Europe's most fortified borders into the scene of a deadly humanitarian crisis.

At least 34 people have died amid a sudden surge of crossings into Ceuta, the Spanish territory on North Africa's coast that shares a land border with Morocco. Footage from the area showed groups of people, many of them young men, swimming around the Tarajal border fence in an attempt to enter the enclave. Others crowded parks, streets and reception centres after arriving.

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