Four Moroccan migrants in Spain's enclave of Ceuta are accused of throwing stones at a patrol of Spanish soldiers on Saturday (August 29), news agency AFP reported on the same day citing a police spokesman.

One of the soldiers reportedly fell and injured himself while pursuing the assailants.

It was the second such incident to occur in recent days in the tiny territory located in North Africa, according to AFP. On Thursday, 12 Moroccan migrants were arrested after they reportedly threw stones at a Spanish military vehicle, injuring one of its four occupants.

According to AFP citing local reports, eleven of those 12 were deported to Morocco.

Since late July, when tens of thousands of mostly male people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta over the span of two days, the situation in the enclave has become a significant source of political and security tension.

According to news agency dpa citing information from the Spanish Interior Ministry, around 72,000 migrants swam from Morocco to Ceuta or climbed over border fences on July 30 and 31. 

While the majority of those who entered Ceuta -- including a large number of children -- returned to Morocco shortly after, some 5,000 migrants remain in the enclave, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said in parliament on Friday, according to dpa.

The remaining migrants are surviving in precarious circumstances, with many sleeping rough or wandering the streets.

Some of the nearly 85,000 residents of Ceuta, which has a population of around 80,000, are staging increasingly violent protests against the migrants' presence, with recent clashes between residents and police reportedly prompting the Spanish government to appeal for calm.

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Spain asks EU for help processing migrants

Amid these rising tensions, the Spanish government is exploring ways to manage the migrant population remaining in Ceuta while complying with EU and international asylum regulations.

On Friday (August 28), Spain reportedly asked for help from EU border agency Frontex, EU law enforcement agency Europol and the EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA) in processing migrants in the North African enclave of Ceuta. 

A day later, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner confirmed Spain's request.

Brunner described the situation in the North African territory as challenging, emphasizing that the EU's primary focus is the prompt return of individuals staying in the enclave illegally.

Frontex support had reportedly been offered by the European Commission's director general for migration and home affairs on August 21.

The Spanish Interior Ministry has moreover requested ten additional Frontex officers to speed up migrant registration and initial screening, dpa reported.

Officials also said that assistance from EUAA for interviews and interpretation would be beneficial, proposing that these tasks be conducted remotely to manage Ceuta's limited capacity.

Uncertainty, pressure around migrant returns

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is facing mounting pressure following the mass arrival.

The Spanish government in Madrid is navigating a legal and political minefield, balancing international asylum obligations against domestic pressure. Spain is prohibited from conducting collective deportations without individual assessments, yet remains reluctant to transfer migrants to the mainland.

Such transfers face fierce opposition from conservative-led regions and risk diplomatic friction with EU partners. Furthermore, moving migrants from Ceuta to the Schengen zone could jeopardize Spain's borderless status, potentially triggering the return of internal border checks.

International law and Spanish judicial decisions ban the mass expulsion of migrants to Morocco without individual case reviews.

The government has officially rejected relocating any migrants from Ceuta to the Spanish mainland, even on a temporary basis, as the enclave remains outside the EU's Schengen zone of free movement.

Such transfers would spark significant pushback from conservative-led regional governments and draw further censure from European partners.

Additionally, moving these individuals could violate Schengen regulations, risking Spain's removal from the borderless travel area.

The government reportedly plans to restrict mainland transfers to approximately 500 unaccompanied minors who require urgent protection.

Read AlsoCeuta: What you need to know about migrant returns

Sánchez rules out Moroccan responsibility

On Monday, Sánchez moreover dismissed allegations of Moroccan involvement in the mass migrant arrivals to Ceuta, AFP reported. Speaking to Cadena SER radio, he emphasized that resolving the crisis requires cooperation rather than suspicion toward Morocco.

While analysts have linked the mass arrival to diplomatic tensions over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, Sánchez reportedly noted that international intelligence partners found no evidence of Moroccan complicity.

Addressing the government's failure to predict the event, he stated that while the National Intelligence Centre and police provided reports, "no information made it possible to gauge the scale, the seriousness of the crisis we were going to experience," he said according to AFP.

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Sánchez further condemned "rumours and disinformation" he attributed to Russian, Israeli, and far-right actors trying to exploit the migration issue to divide Spain and the continent.

The Ceuta crisis has strained EU relations, prompting border controls that have challenged the Schengen free-travel agreement.

Following the mass migrant arrivals, Italy's right-wing government imposed border checks for one month on travellers from Spain after the crisis, with Spain reciprocating a week later.

Both governments on Monday announced a 15-day extension of the controls. 

with AFP, dpa, Reuters