Spain installed a 500-meter-long (1,600-foot) barrier on the maritime border between its North African enclave of Ceuta and Morocco on Saturday, after tens of thousands of migrants breached the frontier earlier in the week in one of the largest mass crossings the European Union has seen.

Ceuta, a Spanish territory since 1580 located on the northern coast of Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar, is one of two EU cities on the African mainland — the other being the Spanish enclave of Melilla, 230 kilometers to the east. Both enclaves are part of the Schengen area, the 29-nation zone where internal border checks have been abolished, making them the EU's only land borders on the African continent.

At least 67 migrants died in the events, the Spanish government confirmed Saturday. Some drowned while others were killed in a stampede as they attempted to cross a breakwater barrier.

Most of the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 migrants who entered Ceuta between Thursday and Friday subsequently returned to Morocco. A small group of exhausted migrants who swam to Ceuta's urban Tarajal beach on Saturday morning were met by Spanish soldiers who escorted them across the border.

The crisis has triggered a fierce diplomatic response across Europe, exposing deep divisions within the EU over migration policy and border security. It has also placed renewed focus on the bloc's longstanding reliance on third countries to manage migration flows. Under agreements dating back more than a decade, the EU has provided Morocco with hundreds of millions of euros in exchange for cooperation on border control and migration management.

Spanish Government Responds

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sharply criticized the reaction of some fellow EU leaders, pushing back against calls for Spain to be suspended from the bloc's borderless Schengen zone. Those demands, he said, were "driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest."

"In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarizing and unlawful reaction," Sánchez wrote in his own letter to EU leaders.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, briefing journalists on Saturday, defended Morocco's role in the crisis. When questioned about how such a massive breach could occur given heavy security on both sides, and whether Morocco posed a threat to Ceuta, Marlaska said: "The events require an evaluation by Spain and Morocco." He credited cooperation with Rabat for enabling Spain "to revert the situation in 24 hours."

"Morocco is not a threat to Ceuta, or to the rest of Spain. It is a reliable partner," Marlaska emphasized.

"We are relentless against those who break the law," he added.

22 EU Nations Demand Coordinated Action

The leaders of 22 EU countries called for a coordinated European response in a joint letter to top EU officials, released Saturday by the Danish prime minister's office. The letter urged the EU's current Irish presidency to urgently convene a videoconference of interior ministers.

"We cannot allow uncontrolled mass crossings, the instrumentalization of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible," the letter stated. "That a migrant's illegal entry can turn into legal stay."

"Such a perception would encourage further attempts, undermine confidence in our common migration policy and have repercussions for all Member States," it continued.

The letter was signed by the leaders of Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Sweden.

Sánchez separately requested a videoconference of EU interior ministers to "enable us to establish a common response to situations of this kind and reaffirm that the security of our external borders is a shared responsibility of all Member States, and not only of those on the Union's front line."

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend Italy's open-border Schengen agreement with Spain. Italy also began reimposing border controls on travelers arriving from Spain by air and sea.

Accounts From Returning Migrants

Hundreds of migrants returned to Morocco on Saturday, some telling an Associated Press reporter they were going back "of their own free will" after what they described as degrading treatment on the Spanish side of the border. They walked along a long stretch of wave breakers before slipping into Morocco through a small breach in the border fence that had become an informal crossing point. Moroccan police and soldiers observed the returns.

Most of the migrants were Moroccan nationals, with a smaller number from sub-Saharan African countries. Many were hungry and visibly injured, some barefoot or shirtless. Several said they had "seen hell in Ceuta."

"I decided to come back on my own," said Ouail Lamzeiz. "I spent eight days in Ceuta, and I was about to get a bed at the migrant center, but I hadn't eaten for days. Even the Moroccans there didn't help," he added, displaying a document he said supported his account.

His friend, Salah Eddine El Arrage, said he decided to return to Morocco after Spanish police, he alleged, beat him.

Migrants described spending nights sleeping in forests around Ceuta, unable to find shelter, and frequently fighting over food. One returnee, Othmane El Merzoug, asked passersby for a phone so he could contact his family and request money for the journey back to his hometown, approximately 189 miles (305 kilometers) from the border.

Ceuta Residents and Officials React

Along Ceuta's Tarajal beach, sunbathers largely ignored the streams of migrants walking toward the border. Ceuta resident Mohamed Abdelatif, 21, said the border rush had shattered the city's calm.

"The reality is, it's not good," Abdelatif said before wading into the water with his girlfriend.

The road linking the Moroccan town of Fnideq to the border crossing showed visible signs of the unrest. Burned-out vehicles lined the roadside and the acrid smell of smoke lingered. Police barriers funneled traffic toward the crossing while water cannons remained stationed nearby.

"Life in this city has been disrupted as a result of the border incident," said Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas. "The return of people has begun satisfactorily but the process must be completed."

Some Determined to Stay

In the Moroccan city of Tangier, approximately 75 kilometers (46 miles) west of Ceuta, the main railway station was crowded with returning migrants, some sleeping on the ground.

"I tried to cross, but I failed. I stayed near the border with Ceuta for two days, but I couldn't find anything to eat," said Abdalah, an aspiring migrant who withheld his last name out of fear of retaliation for attempting to cross illegally.

However, some who reached Ceuta remained resolute about staying. Among them was Mohamed Hatri, a 23-year-old Moroccan.

"They've closed everything down so that we can't buy anything to eat, to force us to return to our country," he said, adding that he and others were determined to stay "whether we're hungry or not."