Symbolic imageCeuta death toll rises to 72 as most migrants return to Morocco
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.
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