The men and women of the Ceuta assembly gathered in front of the parliament building for a minute's silence on Wednesday (September 11) to remember the lives lost during attempts to reach the small Spanish territory from neighboring Morocco.

Members from the parties in the legislature were present: The People’s Party (PP), the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), the left-wing Movement for Dignity and Citizenship (MdyC), and Ceuta Ya! (CY!). The populist conservative Vox party, which has five members in the 25-seat legislature, was absent.

Ceuta's president, Juan Jesús Vivas (PP), led the brief ceremony, which finished with a round of applause from the politicians.

The aim of the minute’s silence was "to express on behalf of all the people of Ceuta, our deepest pain for the people, mostly young people and adolescents, who lose their lives in their attempt to swim to the city," according to a statement quoted by local media.

Teenager latest fatality

The commemoration took place two days after the body of a boy said to be around 15 years old was found in waters off Ceuta’s coast – the second fatality this month.

A total of 18 people are known to have died so far this year while trying to reach the autonomous city. Five bodies were discovered in August.

Most of those who died while trying to swim to Ceuta were Moroccan citizens who left from Castillejos (Fnideq).

In some cases it has not been possible to identify the deceased, Spain’s EFE news agency reports. Most are buried in the Muslim cemetery of Sidi Embarek, where hundreds of migrants have been laid to rest.

Social media campaigns

In recent weeks thousands of people have attempted to swim from Morocco into Ceuta. Many are said to have been encouraged by messages spread on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

With attempts to enter the territory averaging 500 people per day and migrant accommodation extremely overcrowded, the Spanish government’s delegate in Ceuta, Cristina Pérez, said the situation is "unsustainable".

Authorities have made several arrests in connection with the posts.

Also read: Swimming to Ceuta: Moroccan youth document their crossing on TikTok

Security boosted ahead of planned crossing attempt

Spanish and Moroccan media continue to report on a social media campaign urging Moroccans to join a mass crossing of the El Tarajal border to Ceuta this weekend.

An English-language news website, Morocco World News, said Moroccan authorities have boosted security in the areas bordering Ceuta to prevent any major crossing attempts, including deploying police near Fnideq, setting up checkpoints on main access roads, and installing barriers along Fnideq's waterfront promenade.

"Maritime security patrols have also been deployed to intercept any attempted sea crossings towards Ceuta," the paper reported on Wednesday (September 11).

According to EFE, around 14,650 migrants were prevented by Moroccan authorities from entering Ceuta and Melilla, the other Spanish enclave in Morocco, during August.

Also read: Morocco reports stopping more than 45,000 crossings into Europe in 2024

With EFE, el Faro de Ceuta, Morocco World News