Why thousands of migrants suddenly crossed into Spain’s Ceuta enclave as 18 killed

5 min readJul 31, 2026 02:07 PM IST Migrants try to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (Source: AP) Thousands of migrants crossed into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on Thursday, overwhelming local authorities, prompting Madrid to deploy troops and leaving at least 18 people dead in one of the biggest border crossings since the 2021 migration crisis. Spain’s Interior Ministry said on ⁠Friday ​that ​according to ​its ⁠estimates, some 49,000 ‌migrants had crossed into ⁠the enclave of ⁠Ceuta over ‌the past 24 ​hours, ​as ​they rushed ​by sea ⁠and land ‌from Morocco,Why are migrants suddenly crossing? Spain remains one of the main gateways into Europe for migrants who are seeking better economic opportunities and who are fleeing