Ceuta Begins Burials for Migrants Who Died Trying to Reach Spanish Territory

Ceuta has begun burying migrants who died during a deadly attempt to enter the Spanish territory from Morocco, with the first unidentified victims laid to rest in a Muslim cemetery amid calls for authorities to make every possible effort to identify the dead and return them to their families.

Eighteen migrants were buried Friday, with Islamic prayers recited as funeral workers lowered white body bags into numbered graves. The identities of those buried remain unknown.

The migrants were among more than 90 people who died during a mass migration surge into Ceuta three weeks ago, in what has been described as Spain's deadliest border crisis.

More than 72,000 people attempted to reach the small Spanish territory bordering Morocco, driven by a combination of misinformation circulating online, poverty, unemployment and a lack of economic opportunity.

Many of those who died were reported to have drowned or been killed during a stampede as migrants attempted to cross a breakwater near a border checkpoint.

Calls to delay burials

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights has called for the burials to be halted until authorities have exhausted efforts to identify the victims and return their remains to Morocco.

The organization said families should be given the opportunity to recover the bodies of their relatives and bury them with dignity.

Ceuta authorities said paperwork needed to repatriate the bodies had been completed, but that Morocco's government had not accepted it.

Morocco's Foreign Ministry has not responded to questions about the burials or allegations that it is preventing the repatriation of identified bodies.

The dispute has added another layer to an already devastating humanitarian crisis.

Numbered graves preserve possibility of identification

Said Mohammed, acting manager of the cemetery, said all 18 migrants buried Friday were men.

Because their identities have not been established, the graves have been marked with numbers rather than names. The system is intended to allow families to locate and claim the remains should the victims later be identified.

The burials followed Islamic customs, with the bodies placed facing Mecca.

For many of the migrants, mainland Europe was their intended destination. Instead, their journey ended just across the water from the European mainland.

Humanitarian crisis continues

The deadly border crossing has not ended the wider migration crisis in Ceuta.

Local authorities estimate that as many as 10,000 migrants, including women and children, could remain in the territory, although Spain's national government puts the figure closer to 5,000.

Authorities and local residents are continuing to deal with the challenge of providing shelter and basic assistance to those who remain.

Spanish and Moroccan officials have blamed social media rumors and human smuggling networks for contributing to the mass movement of people.

Migrants, meanwhile, have pointed to unemployment, low wages and the lack of opportunity as major reasons for attempting the dangerous journey.

The tragedy has once again highlighted the human cost of Europe's migration pressures and the increasingly dangerous routes people take in search of safety, work and a better life.

For the families of those who died, however, the immediate issue remains painfully simple: finding out who is in the numbered graves and bringing them home.