EU holds emergency meeting after 50,000 migrants enter Ceuta
At least 72 people died in the crossings, while Spain said nearly all migrants had been returned to Morocco by August 1.
The European Union held an emergency meeting of interior ministers after about 50,000 to 60,000 migrants from Morocco crossed into Ceuta, Spain's territory in North Africa, from Wednesday to Friday last week. At least 72 people died trying to reach the enclave. In a joint letter, the bloc rejected uncontrolled mass crossings and what it called the instrumentalization of migration. Morocco's Interior Ministry said the wave was driven by misinformation on social media, human-smuggling networks and a misreading of a July 8 Supreme Court ruling in Spain on migrants intercepted at sea. Spain said that as of Saturday, August 1, nearly all migrants had been sent back to Morocco and that the situation in Ceuta had returned to normal.