Ceuta asks Spain to declare emergency over Morocco migrants

Key Points:

• Officials in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, have requested Madrid declare a national emergency and deploy the army to secure the border with Morocco amid a surge of migrants attempting to cross.
• Video footage showed large groups of migrants swimming around border barriers and scaling fences, overwhelming local police and straining the city's migrant reception center, with nearly 1,000 people waiting outside.
• Ceuta's regional leader, Juan Jesus Vivas, described the situation as a humanitarian and social emergency, noting that 1,500 to 2,000 migrants arrived in just 10 days, equivalent to 2% of the city's population.
• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged an immediate government response, mobilizing resources and coordinating with Moroccan and international authorities to restore order and normalcy.
• The sudden rush is linked to recent legal changes, including a Spanish Supreme Court ruling limiting pushbacks of sea arrivals and a government amnesty for migrants already in Spain, though these do not apply to new irregular entrants.