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Morocco has sent hundreds of troops to the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, amid fears that another 'invasion' of the city is imminent.

Ceuta was inundated by an estimated 72,000 migrants from Morocco in late July, many of whom swam around a border fence that juts out into the sea.

At least 100 people died during the mass influx which occurred over 48 hours, with Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas declaring a 'humanitarian emergency' as the enclave became overwhelmed with new arrivals.

Though most of the migrants who entered the Spanish enclave have since been returned, authorities fear that many will be back as soon as this weekend.

According to El Pais, one message posted to online forums in which migrants discuss mobilising read: 'The Ceuta border will be open on the 15th [of August], a public holiday in Spain.'

In response, Moroccan authorities are deploying hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the border.

Images online have also shown the installation of barbed wire on the Moroccan side of the fences.

Rachid el-Jalfi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, said on Wednesday: 'All necessary measures have been taken to prevent any attempt at illegal crossing and to intercept anyone attempting to participate.'

Young men are arrested after attempting to storm the Bab Sebta border crossing near Fnideq, Morocco, July 31 2026

Migrants gather along the fence close to the site of clashes near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026

Migrants attempting to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta gather on a hilltop during clashes with Moroccan security forces near the town of Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026

He said the current deployment of personnel was part of a 'continuous surveillance system' at both Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish enclave that borders Morocco that was threatened by a mass of migrants.

The spokesperson urged those who planned to go to Ceuta or Melilla to ignore online messages that looked 'suspicious and deceptive', adding that crossings pose 'serious risks to people's safety.'

Spain's interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska reiterated this message, saying yesterday: 'I’m telling them this so they don’t listen to the mafias who are playing with their lives.

'None of them are going to stay [in Ceuta], none of them are going to the mainland, none of them are going to be granted legal status.'

Spain has also been bolstering its border, according to government data.

Since the crisis began in late July, the number of police officers and Civil Guard members deployed has increased from around 1,100 to nearly 1,600.

On top of this, 2,000 Spanish soldiers have been reassigned to support roles.

Spain's socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez, who is overseeing the regularisation of hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, said the mass crossing was a 'violation of Spain's territorial integrity' and blamed the crisis on criminal gangs exploiting a July ruling from the country's Supreme Court.

Migrants walk towards the Fnideq region in northern Morocco after leaving Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta following an attempted crossing at the Bab Sebta border crossing, on the outskirts of Fnideq, on August 1, 2026

A woman is escorted by Moroccan security forces during clashes with migrants attempting to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta near the town of Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026

Migrants queue to receive food staples from local NGO Media Luna Blanca in an industrial area where they are sleeping amid recent mass crossings by migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into the Spanish territory, in Ceuta, Spain, August 6, 2026

Early last month, the top judicial body ruled that a Spanish procedure for returning illegal migrants only applied if they breached a physical border, not if they arrived by sea.

Under the ruling migrants can still be returned after crossing an unmarked maritime border, but only under a separate formal return procedure.

The Ceuta migrant crisis began on July 30. A day later, Sanchez's government announced it would establish a maritime containment barrier, and began building it off the coast of Ceuta and Morocco on August 1.

The crisis also frayed Spain's relationship with the rest of the European Union.

Italy announced almost immediately that it was suspending its Schengen arrangements with Spain, claiming this was necessary to 'to protect the security of our citizens and defend Europe’s borders.'

The suspension of Schengen arrangements, which allows the 450million people of the EU to travel freely to any state in the bloc, was established on July 31, initially for a one-month period.

It means that Italy will perform checks on people travelling from Spain by air or sea.

The country's prime minister Giorgia Meloni said the 'uncontrolled immigration' from Morocco to Ceuta was a national security threat.

A boy walks past Moroccan security forces as a group of undocumented migrants who returned from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta gathers at the Bab Sebta border crossing near Fnideq, Morocco, August 1 2026

It is estimated that more than 70,000 people flooded into the Spanish enclave last month

Most of the migrants who entered Ceuta have now left, authorities say

Spain furiously summoned the Italian ambassador for a meeting, and its foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said his nation expected 'European solidarity and not partisan demagoguery.'

Spain then suspended its Schengen arrangements with Italy.

Denmark's prime minister Mette Frederiksen also called for the EU to 'consider all options, including a suspension of Schengen cooperation.'

Finland's interior minister Mari Rantanen, meanwhile, said she was considering adopting the same approach.

Both France and Portugal, which both border Spain's mainland, said they were increasing border security measures.

Spain is now dealing with the migrants by holding any remaining people in warehouses in Ceuta as they await deportation.

Spain's government will be using a warehouse in Tarajal, yards from the Moroccan border, and another in the enclave to temporarily house them.

Officials are hoping to return the migrants within 72 hours of finding them, during which time they will be sent to the warehouses to be formally identified and processed.

It comes after the revelation that several young migrant girls have allegedly been raped since arriving in Ceuta.

The victims, all under the age of 14, sought treatment at the University Hospital of Ceuta (HUCE) this past week, health services told the El Pueblo de Ceuta newspaper.

Migrants pass through a broken fence as they leave Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta towards the Moroccan town of Fnideq following an attempted crossing at the Bab Sebta border crossing, on August 1, 2026

Relatives and friends wait by a fence topped with barbed-wire for the return of people who had previously crossed into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, at Morocca's Bab Sebta border crossing on the outskirts of Fnideq on August 2, 2026

Migrants gather after crossing back from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, to the Moroccan side of the border in Fnideq, Morocco, July 31, 2026

Judicial sources said many of the alleged rapes were prevented by the direct intervention of residents of Ceuta.

Some residents of the autonomous city were also among the accused, however.

The Ceuta Prosecutor's Office previously said it was aware of two of the cases of alleged sexual assault and had opened preliminary proceedings.

It confirmed that no arrests had yet been made.

The legal procedures required for these allegations to result in convictions include medical reports, victim testimony, security camera footage, witness statements and police reports.

Judicial sources said they had been made aware of 'many cases' of attempted sexual assault, and that the figures will be higher as the days go by.

Authorities have confirmed that two educational centres in the city will be repurposed as shelters for unaccompanied minors.

The first one to be opened is the CEIP Reina Sofía, in the Príncipe Alfonso neighbourhood, which was housing more than 110 girls and teenagers and operating as an exclusively female shelter.

Neighbourhood associations are using the La Reina football field, in the Sidi Embarek neighbourhood, as a night shelter so that women can sleep safely.

The CEIP Príncipe Felipe will act as another shelter for minors, although this educational centre will also be used to house young men.

The city is working on preparing two other spaces, one in the port area and another in Loma Margarita, where all children will be transferred from educational centres to ensure that the school year in September can begin as planned.

Spain's Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego said Friday that 1,342 unaccompanied migrant minors had been registered in Ceuta following the mass influx from Morocco.

Aid groups have warned that the minors, many of whom are sleeping rough on the streets of Ceuta, are at risk of abuse and exploitation.