Ceuta [Spain], August 2 (ANI): Spain on Saturday clarified that of the approximately 50,000 people who crossed irregularly into Ceuta on July 30, more than 48,000 have already been returned to Morocco in less than 48 hours.

The statement was posted by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.

Resharing the article on X, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said, 'Facts, not opinions.'

https://x.com/jmalbares/status/2083528657897734632?s=20

Earlier today in a post on X, Foreign Minister Albares informed that it not possible to travel from Ceuta and Melilla to the Peninsula without identifying oneself at a police checkpoint.

'The integrity of the Schengen Area is absolutely guaranteed. Enough of this deliberate confusion,' he added.

https://x.com/jmalbares/status/2083258896106332256?s=20

Concerns were expressed by several leaders across Europe on the migrant influx.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a post on X said that the images arriving from Ceuta have once again demonstrated, 'how urgent it is for Europe to respond to illegal immigration.'

She added, 'This is why Italy has promoted, together with Denmark, a letter signed by 22 EU Member States, which calls for joint action to strengthen external borders, combat irregular immigration, fight human traffickers, make returns more effective, and eliminate any factor that could incentivize new illegal entries. It is an important signal: the line that Italy has long supported is today shared by an ever-growing number of European Nations.'

She underlined in her post that defending the external borders of the Union is not the interest of a single Nation.

'It is a shared responsibility of Europe.'

https://x.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/2083492490678571348?s=20

Amid the developments, Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said on Saturday that it will convene a meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, chaired by Irish Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Minister Jim O'Callaghan.

He said that Ireland continues to express our strong support and solidarity with the Spanish Government and that it remains in close contact with all EU member states and the institutions and are continuing to monitor the situation.

'On Tuesday, I will convene a meeting of Justice & Home Affairs Council to discuss developments in Ceuta. This will follow a meeting of the Integrated Political Crisis Response mechanism which my Department hosted earlier today, and a meeting of EU Ambassadors planned for Monday,' he said on X.

https://x.com/OCallaghanJim/status/2083576309372821666?s=20

In another post on X, EU Chief Ursula von der leyen said that she took stock on the situation in Ceuta and affirmed that the vast majority of those who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco, due to the effective work of Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement.

'Not a single person reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU,' she said.

https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2083508987320803444?s=20

Previously, at least 57 people were reported to have died in the massive migration surge at the border between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta.

Citing authorities in Ceuta, CNN reported that many of the fatalities occurred as people drowned while massive crowds overwhelmed border guards along both land and sea routes on Thursday.

The incident drew sharp criticism from Washington as well. US President Donald Trump addressed the crisis on social media, linking the events in Europe to American domestic politics ahead of upcoming elections.

'What's happening with Spain, with tens of thousands of Illegal Immigrants invading it, happened in the United States during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, and it will happen again, only worse, if the Dumocrats ever again gain power. DON'T LET OUR COUNTRY BE DESTROYED. VOTE REPUBLICAN, AND BE PROUD OF THE U.S.A.,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. (ANI)