A small city spanning just 19 square kilometers unexpectedly became the focal point of a significant humanitarian and diplomatic crisis, sending ripples across Southern Europe.
On Thursday, Ceuta witnessed an unprecedented influx of thousands of migrants from Moroccan territory, marking the largest mass crossing into the Spanish enclave since the 2021 crisis.
Authorities in Ceuta reported approximately 60,000 migrants entering the city. The human toll was severe, with the Spanish Interior Ministry confirming 34 deaths by Friday afternoon.
Videos captured on Ceuta’s Tarajal beach depicted the chaotic scenes of these crossings, showing large crowds rushing between the breakwater and the roads lining the border area.
While most new arrivals were young individuals, footage also revealed women with children and entire families undertaking this perilous journey, facing risks of drowning and exhaustion.
How did official responses and public sentiment in Morocco and the wider North African region address these unfolding events? I have compiled an overview of the reactions.
Morocco’s sovereignty claims resurface
The events in Ceuta on Thursday reignited one of the most sensitive issues in Moroccan-Spanish relations: the sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla. Rabat has historically considered these cities part of its territory since gaining independence from France and Spain in 1956.
This crisis coincided with Morocco’s Throne Day celebrations, an occasion commemorating the monarch’s accession and the renewal of allegiance between the kingdom and its people.
The prominent Moroccan news outlet Hespress observed that “the waves of incursions into Ceuta and subsequent attempts to cross into Melilla have brought the debate on the social and economic situation in the border areas of both enclaves back to the forefront.”
The publication further stated, “What transpired once again highlights the connection between these cities and their Moroccan surroundings, as well as the complexities of their historical and sovereignty file.”
Hespress noted that the crisis prompted Ceuta’s local authorities to seek intervention from Madrid’s central government. Madrid swiftly contacted Moroccan authorities to discuss containment strategies, leading to an agreement for the return of individuals who had managed to enter the city.
Hespress quoted Yahya Yahya, president of the national committee for the reintegration of Ceuta, Melilla, and adjacent islands, who argued that Ceuta’s handling of the events exposed “the fragility of the Spanish presence in the region.” He deemed the Ceuta government head’s request to deploy the army a “political failure.”
Algeria’s stance on the crisis
Meanwhile, Algiers’ desire to gain political leverage against Rabat, coupled with the historical animosity between the two neighboring nations, heavily influenced Algeria’s public position on the Ceuta events.
The news site Tout sur l’Algérie characterized the incidents as a “massive flight of Moroccans,” asserting that Rabat, labeled as “Europe’s spoiled child,” had once again weaponized the “migratory bomb” against Madrid.
Tout sur l’Algérie contended that European leaders preferred to direct their criticism towards Spain rather than addressing what it perceived as the primary source of this human tide of migrants. It specifically highlighted the stance of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who called for Spain’s suspension from the Schengen area following the events.
This private media outlet went further, accusing Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani of seeking to curry favor with Morocco due to his alleged close ties with the royal palace.
The site also alleged that Moroccan security forces allowed crowds of migrants to enter Ceuta without intervention, claiming that Rabat is either incapable of controlling its borders or is deliberately using migration as a tool against its Spanish neighbor.
It also relayed the reactions of France’s right and far-right to the Ceuta events, suggesting they “overwhelmed Spain with reproaches without uttering a single word about Morocco.”
Algerian public television adopted a similarly critical tone towards Rabat, stating that the events amounted to a “massive flight” reflecting the challenging economic and social conditions in Morocco.
Algeria itself faces a youth unemployment rate of approximately 31%. The government has drawn criticism for its suppression of the Hirak protest movement, which mobilized millions between 2019 and 2021, and for using legal action to silence journalists, activists, and opponents.
Unsurprisingly, politics permeated the social media posts of Algerian internet users. Platforms were flooded with sarcastic comments, with one user renaming Morocco “Switzerland” and insisting that Ceuta is Spanish.
A Moroccan user retorted that Algerians were also among the migrants seeking refuge in Spain, similarly escaping the harsh realities of their own country.
Another user shared a video depicting people of various nationalities seeking better lives away from their homelands, emphasizing that migration factors transcend national belonging.
A separate video posted by a Moroccan account highlighted irregular migration within Algeria and the perceived media silence surrounding it.
Tunisia: “Only the king is left”
In Tunisia, social media users shared videos of the massive crossing into Ceuta, often accompanied by humorous commentary.
Some posts quipped, “Only the king is left,” alluding to the vast number of people who departed Morocco in just a few hours.
Conversely, others believed these images starkly revealed the profound social and economic crisis affecting a significant portion of North African youth, arguing that rising unemployment compels individuals to risk their lives to reach Europe.
Tunisia itself grapples with severe structural economic challenges. Youth unemployment reached 38% in 2025, the highest rate among the three Maghreb countries.
The nation has also become a major source of irregular migration to Europe, with Tunisian nationals now among the primary groups crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, adding a layer of irony to Tunisian social media comments about the Ceuta crossing.
President Kaïs Saïed consolidated executive power in July 2021, dissolved parliament, and adopted a new constitution in 2022, which human rights organizations describe as dismantling the achievements of the 2011 revolution.
Understanding Ceuta and Melilla
Spain maintains two exclaves bordering northern Morocco: Ceuta and Melilla.
Ceuta was captured by the Portuguese in 1415 and remained under Portuguese control for nearly two centuries before transitioning to Spanish rule in 1668, under the Treaty of Lisbon signed that year.
Melilla came under the authority of the Spanish crown in the late 15th century, when the Spanish seized it in 1497, five years after the fall of Granada, the last stronghold of Islamic presence on the Iberian Peninsula.
In 1995, Madrid granted autonomous status to both cities, aligning them with other Spanish regions that operate under a similar decentralized system.
Morocco continues to regard Ceuta and Melilla as occupied territories, referring to them as “the two enclaves,” and has long advocated for this issue to be resolved through dialogue with Spain.
Madrid, however, reaffirms its sovereignty over these two cities, which have evolved into key transit points for smuggling and irregular migration into Europe via Spain.
This reality prompted Spanish authorities, in 1995, to erect an 8.4-kilometer-long fence separating Ceuta from Moroccan territory, reaching up to 10 meters in height in some sections. It is equipped with barbed wire, electronic sensors, and loudspeakers to deter intrusion attempts.
Another border barrier was constructed between Melilla and Morocco in the mid-1990s. This 12-kilometer-long fence, approximately two meters high, features similar electronic equipment to prevent migrants from illegally entering the city.
The 2021 crisis, which saw around 8,000 people cross the border in a matter of days, was largely attributed to a diplomatic rift between Madrid and Rabat after Spain allowed Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Western Sahara’s Polisario Front, to receive medical treatment on its soil. Morocco denied any involvement in that crisis at the time.
