Dozens of people have died after mass migrant crossings from Morocco into the Spanish port territory of Ceuta reached a boiling point overnight.The eyes of the European Union have been fixated on the seven-square-mile city of Ceuta this week as thousands of migrants have poured into the city from Morocco and neighboring African countries. Ceuta, not attached to mainland Spain, is one of just two cities in the European Union to share a land border with Africa — the other being Melilla, Spain, situated a few hundred miles southeast of Ceuta and bordering Morocco — and has a history of tensions over its border with Morocco.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and several Spanish authorities traveled to Ceuta on Friday in an effort to address the migration crisis in the port territory, as multiple EU officials jumped in to comment on the worsening situation. Juan Jesus Vivas, the local leader of Ceuta, estimated that at least 60,000 migrants had illegally rushed into the country from Morocco since Thursday, he said in a Friday press conference.
Vivas has been pushing for Spain to declare a national emergency over the mass migration, calling the situation “absolutely unsustainable.”As the situation continues to unfold on Friday, here’s what to know about Ceuta and the current migrant crisis facing the city.When did Ceuta’s current migrant crisis start?
