Speaking after the Angelus prayer, the Pontiff stated, “I am concerned about the alarming situation in Ceuta,” and added, “I pray to God, through the intercession of Our Lady of Africa, that solutions of peace, stability, and justice may be found.”

  The crisis in Ceuta persists this Sunday, according to Miguel Angel Perez Triano, the Spanish government’s delegate in the city. He confirmed that the death toll has reached 72 migrants following the influx of 50,000 people who arrived in the town from Moroccan territory last Thursday.

  The Sumar group, an ally of the Spanish government, sent a letter to Egyptian diplomat Gehad Madi—the current UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants—implicitly blaming Morocco for the Ceuta crisis.

For his part, Perez Triano stated that although pockets of unrest remain, the city is gradually returning to normal—a claim disputed by conservatives from the Popular Party (PP) and the far-right political force Vox.

  Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the influx of migrants into Ceuta from Morocco; in a public statement, he described the mass irregular arrival of people as an attack and “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”

jdt/to/ort