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On Friday, Spanish authorities moved thousands of migrants to a new facility in Ceuta, sparking renewed tensions as crowds surged and officers fired warning shots into the air.
The operation, which saw migrants moved from the Trampolín and Benítez beaches to the port of Ceuta, got underway shortly after 6:30 am, with several Civil Guard patrols deployed to gather the migrants and escort them on foot to the new settlement, around two kilometres away.
The operation quickly became difficult to manage.
As the first groups from Trampolín beach reached the area of Benítez beach, the number of migrants sharply increased as they joined up with those staying there, with some breaking into a run as officers struggled to contain the crowd.
The facility in the port has capacity for around 1,800 people, while it is estimated that there were more than 4,000 migrants coming from the two beaches – although an exact figure will not be known until all transfers have been completed and all the migrants have been registered.
It is the fifth temporary reception space set up by the Spanish government to deal with the crisis, which began in late July when more than 70,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco. Many of the migrants had spent a month and a half living on the streets in precarious conditions as they waited for a place in one of the facilities.
The port camp
The new camp has been surrounded by controversy and has also faced legal challenges.
On Thursday, Spain’s National Court rejected a request from the Unified Police Union (SUP) for an interim injunction that had sought to halt the installation of tents at the port, which is considered critical infrastructure for the city.
Ana Alarcón, a spokesperson for SUP, said on Friday that “the port is not a safe place.”
“It is not a solution in terms of security (…). If anything happens, we are going to demand that people be held responsible,” she told Antena 3.
For his part, the vice-president of Ceuta, Alejandro Ramírez, accused the government of improvising and said everything had been “done in a rush.”
“The number of incidents in the port has gone from 80 to more than 1,000 in 50 days,” he told Onda Cero.
Foreign Minister seeks to ‘anchor’ Ceuta and Melilla to the EU
It comes after Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares presented a package of measures to the Committee of Ministers this week aimed at moving towards the full integration of Ceuta and Melilla into the European Union – a plan that he has already outlined to the presidents of both autonomous cities.
The measures include establishing a permanent seat for Ceuta and another for Melilla in the European Committee of the Regions, as well as increasing Frontex’s presence in both territories, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
The government is also working to ensure specific treatment for Ceuta and Melilla in the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework.
In addition, the Foreign Ministry has begun coordinating with the ministries of Economy, Finance, Agriculture and Territorial Policy to advance the integration of Ceuta and Melilla into the EU Customs Union and to determine the most appropriate arrangements given their particular geographical and socio-economic circumstances.