What to Know About Ceuta
New York Times · LC · trust 38/100
The peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast that Spain has governed for centuries has been a frequent site of mass migrant crossings and political tensions.
Listen · 5:23 min Share full article People gathered on the Morocco-Spain border near Ceuta, a Spanish enclave, and the Moroccan town of Fnideq on Thursday. Credit... Abdelmajid Bziouat/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Pranav Baskar
At least 18 people have died so far in their attempt to reach Spanish soil, a government spokesman for Spain said on Thursday.
The peninsula, Ceuta, is one of only two cities on the African mainland that are officially part of Europe. In search of better economic prospects, thousands of migrants have scaled a 20-foot-high border fence into Ceuta or entered the territory by sea in mass crossing episodes over the years.
But so many migrants made the passage on Thursday that it prompted Spain to mobilize its military and ignited backlash from the country’s right-wing opposition, which accuses the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of being lax on border control.
We covered the news here. Here’s a guide to why Ceuta matters.
A six-mile-long peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast, Ceuta is a Spanish enclave fortified by a double fence and a Spanish police and paramilitary presence.
The city, along with Melilla, another autonomous Spanish city further east along the same coast, have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa .
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