Ceuta and Melilla casualties spike in migrant crisis – 'continental catastrophe'

The remarks came as the border crisis boiled over on Thursday and overnight, with Spanish state broadcaster RTVE showed burned cars on the Moroccan side. 13:03, Fri, Jul 31, 2026 Updated: 13:10, Fri, Jul 31, 2026 Migrants swim through the waters close to the border with Morocco to enter Ceuta (Image: AFP via Getty Images)The mass breach of Spain’s border at Ceuta by thousands of migrants constitutes a “continental catastrophe”, according to a leading Brussels analyst, as casualties mount. John O’Brien, head of communications at MCC Brussels, was speaking as footage emerged of crowds pouring into the Spanish North African enclave while at least 18 people died in the attempt. ITVXMr O’Brien said: “The footage from Ceuta and Melilla… ought to be of grave concern to all patriotic or sovereignty-minded people in Europe and beyond." The scale and pace of what he termed a "mass violation" of Spanish and therefore European Union border was suggestive not of what the EU prefers to term ‘irregular migration’ or of ‘humanitarian need’ but of an "invasion", Mr O'Brien claimed. He added: "Despite the pleas of local officials, the Spanish state has sat back whilst tens of thousands of Moroccan r...