The mayor of Ceuta said that about 100 migrants were killed during the border breach — Reuters
On August 7, Juan Jesús Vivas, the mayor of Ceuta, Spain, stated that about 100 migrants died during a mass border breach that took place last week. He made this announcement during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs.
Vivas added that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants are still in Ceuta.
He called for the “protection” of the Spanish enclave’s border with Morocco, which he described as a “border for everyone,” and requested an increase in personnel and material resources in the area.
“Our population feels oppressed, powerless, worried, frightened, and anxious. And they have good reason to feel this way, because the inevitable question arises: Will this happen again in the future, and will this be the last straw that pushes us over the edge?” EFE quotes Vivas as saying.
The leader of Ceuta began his speech before the committee by noting that, according to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, “the second meaning of the word ‘invasion’ should be understood as an abnormal or irregular occupation of a particular place.”
“That is exactly what happened on July 30 and 31, when approximately 80,000 people—the entire population of Ceuta—stormed into our city,” he said.
In this regard, he added that what happened “is not a typical migration crisis,” but rather an incident that “undermined” the integrity of “Ceuta, Spain, and Europe.”
Vivas asserted that the upcoming date of August 15—which is being discussed on social media in connection with a possible new mass arrival of migrants—is “clear evidence that Ceuta is on high alert,” and stated that they do not know “whether this will happen again, because it has become clear that the border is completely vulnerable.”
Vivas explained that most of the migrants who arrived in Spain last week have already returned to Morocco on their own, although he noted that the city “has not yet returned to normal,” as “there are still between 3,000 and 5,000 people there.”
He also called for “strengthening security in Ceuta” and along the border by “increasing personnel and resources, as well as building infrastructure” and “providing the necessary resources” to address “the current problem of the collapse of migrant reception centers.”
This was reported by Reuters.
As a reminder, Spanish intelligence agencies identified several individuals among the migrants who arrived en masse in Ceuta who had previously been implicated in cases related to jihadist terrorism.
Thousands of people breached the Spanish border in Ceuta: why a new migration crisis began and what Madrid will do.
Spain has reported an exodus of migrants from Ceuta.
