More than a thousand Ceuta residents held a sit-in Sunday near the Tarajal crossing with Morocco after marching from downtown and pausing at the Chorrillo esplanade so others could join. The gathering came as the city neared two months since tens of thousands of migrants entered the Spanish exclave in late July.

They sought lasting security steps and stronger borders. Older residents unable to walk showed support from apartment windows.

Last week Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez mentioned Ceuta in a United Nations speech but presented himself as the target of an international campaign rather than offering solutions.