At least 41 migrants have died while trying to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, local regional president Juan Jesus Vivas said, as Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rushed to defuse the escalating crisis in the region.
About 60,000 migrants have entered Spain’s Ceuta from Morocco in the past 24 hours, Vivas told reporters. The enclave, north of Morocco, is facing a crisis since Thursday, with security forces clashing with migrants trying to cross over to Spain.
Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, said some of the 41 people who died had drowned. Others were killed in a stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach near the Moroccan checkpoint.
Sanchez condemned the breach of the border on Friday speaking in Ceuta, describing the events as “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”
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