On July 30, 2026, no fewer than nine migrants died as they tried to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco. A flood of people overran the border. Spanish troops were called in after government officials could not handle the crowd. Ceuta’s authorities said that about 40,000 migrants arrived on foot, about half the city’s 80,000 residents.
The European Union said Frontex would assist and urged Morocco to departures by sea and land. Spanish forces held the flow under control and labored to stop further deaths.