The Ceuta regional government had earlier called for Madrid to deploy the army to guarantee safety and close the border with Morocco. Enrique Serrano, who runs a women’s clothing store in central Ceuta, told Reuters business owners were organising themselves to protect their property and families in case of possible disturbances as they believed police resources would be insufficient. Ceuta, together with Melilla — another Spanish autonomous city located in North Africa — represents the European Union’s only land border with Africa. Conservative opposition People’s Party leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo said in a post on X: “The situation in Ceuta is desperate. Earlier this month, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border-rejection regime.