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to MoroccoIsraeli strikes continue in Gaza as disarmament roadmap stallsChinese chip advances trigger week of global market swingsDrone strikes kill nine in Russia as Ukraine says it hit Saratov refineryIran says Hormuz route talks with Oman near completion as US blockade holdsRights group blames Sudan's army for drone strike on Darfur courtOPEC+ completes rollback of 2023 oil output cutsRosatom reports drone strike meters from Zaporizhzhia reactor buildingTwo water-bomber pilots killed as wildfire destroys homes near AthensAstraZeneca held talks on $400bn Bristol Myers mergerBrent falls below $82 as US holds off on Iran strikesSuicide bomber kills 14 at Pakistani police stationHungary shuts sole nuclear plant as Danube hits record lowEU labelling duty for AI-generated content takes effectBomb kills three at central Moscow restaurantChina drills at Scarborough Shoal and warns Manila of a 'head-on blow'Hackers hit US water systems in at least seven statesUS-backed Venezuela transition talks set to openWildfires around Spokane force 60,000 to evacuateAI funding boom shows signs of strainBeijing draws 'red lines' before trade talks with EU and USIsrael ties Lebanon deal to Hezbollah disarmament after Kafra blastGunmen kill 12 in Nigerian village and seize churchgoersUS restores part of its vaccine and health aidLula launches bid for fourth term against Bolsonaro's sonChina flash flood death toll rises to 25Israeli forces push into Syria's Quneitra provinceEU naval force boards sanctioned Russian shadow-fleet tankerAI policy groups demand federal probe into OpenAI breachModi speeds up informal Indo-Pacific bloc to counter ChinaOrtega scraps elections to cement family rule in NicaraguaUS weighs transfer of Patriot production technology to UkraineTaiwan warns China's hybrid warfare tests whole regionUS troop movements in Iraqi Kurdistan raise drawdown questionsKremlin pushes more Russian men into fighting in UkraineUK farmers warn drought could cause food shortagesTürkiye updates military readiness for Cyprus after UN chief's visitChina's private factory gauge shows weaker growthUS Senate leaders reach funding deal to avert shutdownPaul Weiss's capitulation reshaped US legal resistance to TrumpThird suspect arrested as more graves surface in Zubin PotokUS health secretary tells families to vaccinate against measlesPakistan applies for $10bn US forex facilityStorm leaves two dead and 180,000 without power in ChileMonte dei Paschi explores Banco BPM takeover as Rome plans exitLebanon weighs consequences of Salameh arrestIran-linked Foxtrot network recruits teenagers in EuropeBus collision kills eight in central Tanzania
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Symbolic image: Ceuta death toll rises to 72 as most migrants return to MoroccoSymbolic image

Ceuta death toll rises to 72 as most migrants return to Morocco

18 sources

The death toll from last week's mass crossing into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta has risen to at least 72, up from 67. Most of the tens of thousands who got in have since gone back to Morocco.

What happened

  • The crossings began on Wednesday, 29 July; the Guardian counts more than 50,000 people entering Ceuta within days.
  • Ceuta lies on the North African coast, roughly 19 kilometres by sea from mainland Spain.
  • One crosser told the Guardian Moroccan police removed checkpoints at Fnideq and waved Moroccans through, forcing sub-Saharan migrants back.
  • Handelsblatt reports the search for further bodies off the coast continued on Sunday.
  • EU interior ministers confer by videoconference on Tuesday, according to FAZ.

The view from outside

German and US outlets shift the frame away from the strait: FAZ treats Ceuta as the first test of the EU's weeks-old Common European Asylum System and warns about pull factors and steered rumours. The New York Times reports that Europe's far right, marginal in 2015, now sets the tone of the reaction.

What could happen next

  • How many people are still missing at sea is unclear; the FT reports Morocco is counting its dead and missing.
  • A minority remain camped on a Ceuta seafront, the New York Times reports, saying they will stay.
  • Rabat's motive is unproven: the Guardian cites speculation about Sánchez's Algeria visit and the Western Sahara dispute.
  • FAZ asks what would follow if such a rush hit mainland borders, where returns are harder than from an enclave.
How the camps see it

  • Spain: Prime minister Pedro Sánchez calls the crossing a violation of Spain's territorial integrity; Madrid blames human-trafficking mafias exploiting a supreme court ruling against summary returns.

  • Morocco: Rabat says it is unhappy about the mass crossing, attributes it to criminal organisations, calls cooperation with Spain exemplary and hopes those in Ceuta return.

Also involved

EU partners

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