Migrants shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ flood Spanish enclave | World | News
Moroccan migrants crowded the streets of a small Spanish enclave over the weekend (Image: X)
Police officers came to blows with groups of migrants after they descended upon a Spanish city in their thousands.
Footage from Sunday captured a group of migrants carrying an injured man wrapped in a blanket, whom they claimed had been attacked by police, while chanting “Allahu Akbar.”
Scuffles quickly ensued, with video showing Spanish National Police officers armed with batons charging towards migrants during the demonstration.
Approximately 60,000 people from Morocco flooded into the Spanish city on Thursday, which shares a land border and sits on the northern coast of North Africa. Those arriving in Ceuta alleged that Moroccan police officers had actively encouraged them as they made their way to the city.
Mohammed Ahmidho, 37, who learned of the surge of migrants into Spain via social media, said he heard officers calling out “Come to Spain,” as he approached the border.
Some analysts have suggested Morocco may have permitted migrants to cross the border as a means of applying diplomatic pressure on Spain, which has recently strengthened its relations with Rabat’s arch-rival, neighbouring Algeria.
Some Moroccans also claimed they were directed by viral social media posts that exposed a loophole in Spanish immigration policy.
This follows Spain’s Supreme Court ruling that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Melilla or Ceuta, both Spanish enclaves, could not be immediately returned to Morocco.
The unrest in Ceuta spread to Spain’s second North African enclave of Melilla on Friday. The Spanish African enclaves were engulfed in days of turmoil, with vehicles set ablaze and migrants forcing entry into buildings.
Migrants clashed with police officers in the streets of Ceuta (Image: Getty Images)
???????????? In Ceuta, a crowd of illegal Moroccan migrants is already establishing its own rules in the city
The crowd shouts “Allahu Akbar” at National Guard officers and drags a wounded migrant through the streets in protest against being returned home. pic.twitter.com/Q27cvVFLTW
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 3, 2026
Deeply troubling footage captured vast crowds of people sprinting up beaches, swimming to shore, and scattering through the streets of Ceuta.
Some migrants could be heard crying out, “Long live Spain.”
The European Union announced it would convene a video call on Tuesday after 22 member states issued a joint open letter demanding an emergency meeting.
The Italian government revealed it was weighing up “extraordinary measures,” including the closure of its open border.
“The images coming from Ceuta are striking and demonstrate, once again, that uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe’s borders,” declared Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco sleep on a beach (Image: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
France announced it would strengthen its borders with Spain, with the interior minister issuing “instructions to immediately step up controls” at their shared border crossings.
Far-right, anti-immigration Spanish politicians and right-wing influencers descended on the city, igniting counter-protests that drew in members of the city’s sizeable Muslim community.
Alvise Pérez, a right-wing Spanish politician and Member of the European Parliament, demanded the migrants be removed. Pérez was subsequently forced to take refuge in a bar until police escorted him to safety.
