Published Updated

Europe02 September, 20263 min read

Spanish Police Clear Ceuta Migrants From Beaches, Fire Rubber Bullets Into Air

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Spanish police began moving migrants from Ceuta beaches to a port camp. Police fired rubber bullets into the air during the transfer operation.

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Spanish Police Clear Ceuta Migrants From Beaches, Fire Rubber Bullets Into Air
Image: Zonebourse

Ceuta transfer turns chaotic

Riots erupted in Ceuta as Spanish police moved hundreds of migrants from temporary camps on the beaches to a new reception center in the port area, after weeks of living outdoors on the city’s beaches. The transfer began at 06:30 in the morning (04:30 GMT) and police gathered migrants from the early hours, accompanying them on foot for more than two kilometers from temporary camps on the beaches of Trampoline and Benitez toward the port. Local authorities said the new shelter can hold about 1,700 people, while estimates put the number living in the beach camps between 3,000 and 4,000 people.

Spanish riot police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck people with batons as they began an operation to clear thousands of migrants off beaches and move some into temporary housing. Digital Transformation Minister Oscar Lopez said on Friday that the operation represents a “milestone,” explaining that moving migrants from the beaches will enable authorities to process cases more quickly and relieve pressure on public facilities.

Image from A News
Image: A News
Reporting for this sectionAl-Jazirah Net

Officials, opposition trade blame

As the operation continued, Antena 3 Noticias described the transfer as chaotic, with its live coverage saying “The situation is chaotic,” while also adding that “Benítez Beach has not emptied at all.” The Ceuta Port Authority president Juan Manuel Doncel criticized not being informed about the operation in advance, telling Antena 3 Noticias: “I found out about the unpleasant news through Antena 3,” he says. In Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government proceeded with the transfer despite conservative local authority opposition, and the BBC said the operation began at about 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) with more than 3,000 migrants being transferred.

The BBC also reported that Ceuta’s Mayor Juan Jesus Vivas told lawmakers in the European Parliament that the migrants had turned Ceuta into a “pressure cooker.” Ester Muñoz of the conservative People’s Party said the government was “directly responsible for the invasion of Ceuta and for those who died,” while Sánchez insisted it was impossible to predict the influx.

Image from ABC
Image: ABC
Reporting for this sectionAntena 3BBC

Capacity limits leave thousands outside

The port camp’s limited capacity shaped the aftermath, with the BBC saying several hundred migrants reached the camp and it has a capacity for 1,700 people, while Ceuta authorities estimated 13,000 migrants remain in the enclave. Antena 3 Noticias reported that after the transfer of 1,700 migrants to the temporary port camp, many returned to the streets for not obtaining a place, and it said the port facility has space for about 1,700 people while estimates place the number of migrants between both settlements at more than 4,000. Arab News said by noon all places at the new camp had been taken and the transfer operation had wrapped up, while a government source told AFP that the enclave’s total temporary accommodation capacity would reach 6,000 people.

The BBC added that the operation was part of the government’s attempt to concentrate migrants in facilities where they can be identified and cared for while their administrative status is individually determined. Even after the transfer operation, the BBC said residents of the 18.5 sq km (7.2 sq miles) territory expressed safety concerns, and it noted that some residents destroyed shelters and blocked aid being supplied to the migrants.

Reporting for this sectionAntena 3BBC