Thousands sliding down sea walls, rubber rings scattered across beaches, and utter chaos at Europe's only land border with Africa — what's happening in Ceuta is extraordinary.

Spain is sending in the troops — literally.

As reported by cbinews.tv, thousands of migrants swam from Morocco into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, in what officials are calling a total collapse of border controls.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking in parts too. At least 15 people drowned trying to make the crossing, with many sliding down concrete embankments into the sea just to swim around the jetty that marks the border.

On the Spanish side, beaches were soon covered in rubber rings and flippers. Some were celebrating making it. Others didn’t.

This has been building for days, but Thursday was mayhem. Local officials in Ceuta had already been begging Madrid for help as attempts rose. By Thursday afternoon, one Spanish official said the border was in "total collapse".

Spain's Interior Ministry says human trafficking networks are behind it, exploiting a recent Supreme Court ruling that migrants stopped at sea trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be summarily returned to Morocco.

Their statement was blunt: "The armed forces will reinforce the Civil Guard in the exercise of its powers and any others that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta."

Ceuta's leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, says the city is completely overwhelmed, with migrant reception centres bursting at the seams and Madrid being too slow to react. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is due in Ceuta on Friday and has pledged to restore normality immediately.

But the fallout is already spreading across Europe.

Italy is not happy. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted on X that the images from Ceuta were "striking" and that "uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe's borders." She said she’s considering "extraordinary measures" including suspending the open-border Schengen agreement with Spain.

Spain wasn't having any of it. Foreign Minister Jose Luis Albares hit back, accusing his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani of weaponising immigration for politics, calling the remarks "improper" for a partner country.

Meanwhile, on the ground, tensions are still high. In Fnideq, just over the border in Morocco, witnesses told Reuters that Moroccan authorities fired water cannons to deter crossings. In Melilla, Spain's other enclave, there were reports of clashes at the Beni Ansar border point.

No one can agree on the exact numbers — Spanish media estimated between 2,000 and 3,000 people entered Ceuta on Thursday, though the Guardia Civil hasn't confirmed it.

It’s sparking comparisons with May 2021, when around 8,000 people entered Ceuta in just a few days and triggered a major diplomatic row with Morocco.

And remember, Ceuta and Melilla represent the EU's only land border with Africa. Despite extra surveillance, higher barriers and closer ties with Morocco, people are still risking everything to cross.

Credit: cbinews.tv

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