41 Dead, 60,000 Enter From Morocco: All About Crisis In Spain's Enclave Ceuta

At least 41 migrants have died while trying to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, local regional president Juan Jesus Vivas said, as Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rushed to defuse the escalating crisis in the region.

About 60,000 migrants have entered Spain's Ceuta from Morocco in the past 24 hours, Vivas told reporters. The enclave, north of Morocco, is facing a crisis since Thursday, with security forces clashing with migrants trying to cross over to Spain.

Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, said some of the 41 people who died had drowned. Others were killed in a stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach near the Moroccan checkpoint.

Sanchez condemned the breach of the border on Friday speaking in Ceuta, describing the events as "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity."

He blamed human smugglers, saying they "deceive so many young people, and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths - whether in the ocean or, as in this case, at Spain's border in the autonomous city of Ceuta."

Spain's interior ministry claimed that half of the migrants had already gone back to Morocco, sharing footage of people walking back through a fence door at the border.

Madrid has also sent troops, more police, including divers, drones and boats, to boost security in Ceuta.

On Thursday, videos showed thousands of people entering Ceuta through the Spanish border.

Migrant Crisis Triggers Diplomatic Fallout

The sudden and massive influx has triggered an international crisis for the Spanish government, with Germany, Italy and Finland condemning the incident. Meanwhile, France has tightened its checks at borders with Spain.

The European Union, which normally does not enforce border controls between its members, is facing a diplomatic fallout following the Morocco migrant crisis.

In a post on social media, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called the Ceuta scenes "unacceptable".

"We cannot allow anyone to come to our (European) Union without abiding by our rules," she said.

A senior official later said EU saw no migrant travel onwards to European mainland from Ceuta.

Italy on Thursday called for Spain to be suspended from Europe's open-borders Schengen zone, while Finland and Denmark backed it on Friday.

France and Britain they stood ready to help Spain battle the crisis.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump seized the opportunity to launch a political attack, saying that the United States will face a similar crisis if Democrats are elected to power.

"It's terrible. Remember that picture. That's going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in," he was quoted as saying by Fox News. "If the Democrats get in, you will not live a very good life."