Tens of thousands rally in Spain in support of Ceuta, against Sánchez

Tens of thousands rally across Spain in support of Ceuta and against the Madrid government's migration policy.

Participants accuse Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of pursuing an appeasement policy towards Morocco and failing to provide adequate support to Ceuta.

Ceuta faced an influx of 72,000 migrants in two days, with around 5,000 still in the territory a month later, leading to ongoing protests and challenges for the region.

Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Spain in support of the North African exclave of Ceuta's place within Spain and against the Madrid government's migration policy, amid an ongoing migration crisis in the territory.

Participants and speakers accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's central government on Wednesday of pursuing an appeasement policy towards Morocco and of failing to provide adequate support to Ceuta.

While Morocco has long claimed Ceuta - as it has the other North African Spanish exclave of Melilla - it is not currently applying any particular pressure on the issue.

Spanish opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, of the conservative People's Party, nonetheless spoke of an "invasion" by migrants backed by Morocco. He accused Sánchez and his government of lying, saying they had claimed there had been no warning of the migration crisis and that Morocco had not instigated it. Both claims were untrue, he said.

In Ceuta, thousands of people gathered beneath a sea of Spanish flags, demanding a return to normality and calling for the enclave to remain part of Spain. "Ceuta does not sell out, Ceuta does not surrender," read banners at the rally.

According to government figures, at least 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31. A month later, around 5,000 of them were still in the exclave, some camping on streets and beaches - a situation that has placed a heavy burden on the territory's 83,000 residents.

Protests have continued to take place, and there have been repeated violent attacks on migrants and private aid organizations.

Spain is legally barred from carrying out collective deportations and must rule on each asylum application individually, a process that could take weeks or months.

The Spanish central government has also ruled out transferring the migrants to the mainland, because Ceuta is not part of the Schengen Area and other Schengen members could then introduce border checks with Spain - as Italy has already done.

The rallies on Ceuta's regional holiday were called by FEMP, the umbrella body representing Spanish municipalities, which is led by the People's Party. The far-right populist Vox party also took part in the demonstrations.

"Ceuta is Spanish and will not be abandoned," said Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

According to the central government's representative, around 50,000 people attended the rally in Madrid, which the national broadcaster RTVE said was the largest single event of the evening.

People's Party Secretary General Miguel Tellado said around 2,000 rallies had taken place across Spain and again called for the government to resign and for fresh elections to be held.

In some cities, including Barcelona and Bilbao, counter-demonstrations were held at which participants spoke out against racism. "No human being is illegal," read banners at those events