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CEUTA, Spain — <\/span>About 60,000 migrants have crossed from Morocco into Spain\u2019s tiny Ceuta territory in the past 24 hours, Ceuta’s president said Friday, a figure that is equivalent to 70% of the population of the self-governing city in North Africa.<\/p>\n But roughly half of them have already made their way back voluntarily, the Spanish government said. <\/p>\n The sudden arrival of so many migrants triggered chaos and a humanitarian crisis. Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta while security forces clashed with migrants on the Moroccan side of the border. At least 41 migrants died attempting the crossing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable,\u201d Ceuta President Juan Jes\u00fas Vivas told journalists.<\/p>\n Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez visited Ceuta on Friday and condemned the border breach, which he described as \u201ca violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez blamed human smugglers for the crisis, saying they \u201cdeceive so many young people, and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths \u2014 whether in the ocean or, as in this case, at Spain\u2019s border in the autonomous city of Ceuta.\u201d<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s interior ministry, which initially refused to share estimates from the border, released its own figures shortly after Vivas\u2019 spoke, estimating that some 50,000 people had crossed from Morocco since Thursday. It added that 25,000 had already returned to Morocco, with hundreds more going back by the hour.<\/p>\n Video footage early on Friday showed hundreds of migrants gathered on a hill overlooking Ceuta being dispersed with tear gas by Moroccan forces, while others continued to swim to the Spanish territory. But by Friday afternoon, most migrants were trying to leave Ceuta given the dire conditions there.<\/p>\n Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a \u201cserious humanitarian crisis,\u201d saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s chaotic,\u201d Sbihi said.<\/p>\n The Moroccan Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the migrant figures released by the Spanish authorities. <\/p>\n European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the \u201cimages coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules,\u201d she said Friday in an online statement. \u201cDangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the 41 people who died had drowned, Sbihi said, but some were also killed in a stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, an urban beach near a border checkpoint with Morocco. The waters near the border fence were littered with buoys, shoes and other belongings left behind.<\/p>\n Many young Moroccans who crossed into Ceuta told The Associated Press that they had hoped to find better work opportunities in Spain but were returning given the mayhem in Ceuta.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing at home. I\u2019d have to work 12-hour shifts for a meager wage. That\u2019s why I came here,\u201d said 21-year-old Abdulah Buji, who hails from Tetouan. \u201cBut I haven\u2019t found any opportunities here either, so I have to go back.\u201d<\/p>\n Moroccan police used water cannons and fired warning shots into the air to prevent migrants from crossing into Ceuta, according to rights groups in Morocco.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the heavy police presence, people crossed through the waterway, while the land border remained closed,\u201d said Achraf Maimouni, a human-rights activist in Fnideq, the Moroccan city bordering Ceuta.<\/p>\n Morocco\u2019s ambassador to Spain expressed hope that those who crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory would return. Karima Benyaich described the situation in Ceuta as difficult, saying it had unfolded against Morocco\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have always prioritized legal, orderly and safe migration for all,\u201d she said. Benyaich did not comment on what prompted the migrants to cross into Ceuta.<\/p>\n To reach Ceuta, on the northern African coast, migrants often swim from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, covering about 3 miles (5 kilometers) to reach Spanish territory. Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the distance is shorter.<\/p>\n The authorities in Ceuta and Madrid have linked the border surge to a recent decision by Spain’s Supreme Court that ruled migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported, unlike those who cross by land or climb the border fence. <\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez said migrant smugglers misinterpreted the ruling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt appears that this interpretation of the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling spread like wildfire over the past few hours through the networks of human trafficking organizations, triggering the kind of mass surge we witnessed yesterday,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said.<\/p>\n Some activists in Morocco expressed doubt that the ruling was behind the surge, arguing that most migrants would have been unaware of such legal decisions.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez has bucked the anti-migration trend that has gained ground across Europe and in the U.S. <\/p>\n Earlier this year, his government moved to give residency and work permits to hundreds of thousands of migrants already living in the country without permission.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez, a Socialist, argued that it would be good for the economy and the demographics of an aging Spain. Migrants who entered irregularly after Jan. 1 this year were not included.<\/p>\n But his critics have jumped the opportunity to attack his policy, saying it encouraged more migrants to come.<\/p>\n \u201cS\u00e1nchez allows Spain to be invaded through Ceuta,\u201d Spanish conservative politician Isabel D\u00edaz Ayuso wrote on X.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez on Friday defended his migration policy and distanced it from the events unfolding in Ceuta.<\/p>\n The chaos had ripple effects abroad. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend her country’s open-border Schengen agreement with Spain \u201cto defend our borders and ensure the safety of our citizens,\u201d even though Italy does not share a border with Spain and is also an entry point for tens of thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean each year. <\/p>\n French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said France would also strengthen border checks with Spain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis crisis in Ceuta has nothing to do with the regularization of migrants adopted by the Government of Spain, as is being falsely claimed by some,\u201d the Spanish government said in a statement late Thursday after Meloni’s announcement. <\/p>\n Migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, Spain\u2019s other territory at the tip of North Africa. <\/p>\n There was widespread chaos in Bni Nsar, the Moroccan town bordering the Spanish territory, where migrants clashed with police, throwing rocks and setting police vehicles ablaze, according to local media and rights groups. They reported injuries among security forces and the arrest of dozens of people attempting to cross.<\/p>\n Like Ceuta, Melilla is an autonomous Spanish city on the North African coast. Many Moroccans consider both cities to be occupied territory.<\/p>\n