A resident watches from her window migrants waiting on the sidewalk before being registered in Loma Colmenar district of Ceuta on August 31, 2026. Photo by Antonio Sempere / AFP
Rome: Italy on Monday said it would extend by 15 days border checks with Spain put in place on August 1 after tens of thousands of migrants entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
The interior ministry said in a statement that the extension was "due to the continued relevance of the assessment factors that led to their introduction on August 1."
Italy said it was "taking into account the initiatives already launched by Spain, together with the European Union, so that the situation in that area may move towards normalisation in the near future."
More than 70,000 migrants entered the small Spanish enclave in North Africa in late July, swimming or crossing on foot from neighbouring Morocco in a chaotic influx that left scores dead and fuelled fresh tensions in the European Union over migration.
Italy and Spain do not share a land border, but passengers arriving on flights from Spain now go through passport controls, which normally they would not have to because both countries are both members of the border-free Schengen zone.
Ceuta is not part of Schengen.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday the rush of migrants was still under investigation, though he ruled out any responsibility on the part of Moroccan authorities.
In a radio interview, the prime minister also denounced misinformation spread by the "ultra-right".
Although the vast majority of migrants returned to Morocco within hours, thousands remain in Ceuta, which is only territory 18 square kilometres (seven square miles), many living rough on the streets.
