On July 30, 2026, no fewer than nine migrants died as they tried to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco. A wave of people overran the border. Spanish troops were deployed after local officials could not handle the crowd. Ceuta’s authorities stated that about 40,000 migrants arrived on foot, about half the city’s 80,000 residents.
The European Union declared Frontex would assist and called on Morocco to exits via water and overland routes. Spanish forces kept the flow under control and worked to prevent more fatalities.