Vehicles are on fire in the Moroccan port town of Beni-Enzar, near the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla, as riots erupted following a surge in migrant crossings. The fires, reported as arson by local news outlet El Faro de Melilla, broke out amid violent clashes after thousands of migrants stormed a border crossing between Morocco and Spain on Thursday, July 30.
Fires and Riots in Beni-Enzar
Videos circulating on social media show crowds of people making their way along breakwaters at an urban beach near a border checkpoint of Ceuta, another Spanish territory. Footage also captured vehicles ablaze on Moroccan soil. The government of Ceuta announced on Thursday that between 1,500 and 2,000 people had entered over the preceding 10 days, with hundreds more estimated to have arrived on Thursday alone.
Ceuta Overwhelmed
Ceuta and Melilla sit on the northern shores of the Mediterranean coast at the tip of Africa. Both autonomous cities are Spanish territories and share the European Union's only land borders with Africa. Morocco does not officially recognise them as Spanish territory, frequently referring to them as occupied lands.
Border Collapse and Government Response
Rachid Sbihi, head of the association representing Spain's Civil Guard officers policing the border in Ceuta, said: 'The situation is absolute chaos. It's not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing.' He added that the border had 'totally collapsed.'
Local authorities in Ceuta have appealed to the central government in Madrid for additional support. However, Spain's Interior Ministry dismissed calls to declare a national emergency, stating that the measure does not encompass migration crises. The ministry subsequently announced that the armed forces would deploy 60 troops to bolster the border.
The escalating situation follows a significant surge in migrants attempting to reach Ceuta, predominantly by swimming, on Wednesday. Police sources confirm at least 17 people have lost their lives while attempting to swim into Ceuta.
