This is the moment several makeshift migrant shelters were set on fire in Ceuta amid mounting tensions due to the ongoing crisis.
The disturbances erupted around Benitez and El Trampolin beaches on Thursday, where hundreds of migrants have been sleeping following the mass crossings from Morocco at the end of July.
Footage from the scene shows fires burning on the beach as protesters gathered carrying a huge Spanish flag and chanting slogans including ‘Ceuta no se vende, Ceuta se defiende’ (Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta must be defended).
Some demonstrators broke through a police cordon and entered an improvised migrant settlement, where shelters and belongings were destroyed and set alight. Police subsequently intervened to disperse the crowd, reported Europa Press.
Migrants who had been staying in the area fled, with some gathering around a nearby breakwater before later moving towards El Trampolin.
On Friday, Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE reported that the number of makeshift shelters at El Trampolin had increased following the previous night’s violence.
Red Cross convoy blocked
The violence followed another confrontation involving the Spanish Red Cross, which has been distributing food and water to migrants.
A group of protesters blocked a road being used by a Red Cross convoy comprising an emergency truck and several vans, some of them ambulances, as they attempted to reach the distribution area.
The protesters wanted to prevent humanitarian supplies from being handed out, although the food itself had already reached the distribution point and the vehicles were eventually redirected.
The incidents marked a dramatic escalation in protests that have gripped Ceuta over recent days amid anger over the handling of thousands of migrants who remain in the Spanish enclave.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Congress on Friday that approximately 72,000 people entered Ceuta during the crisis, with the vast majority subsequently returning to Morocco.
The Spanish government now estimates that around 5,000 migrants remain in Ceuta.
There has also been confusion surrounding the number of unaccompanied minors.
Authorities had previously cited a substantially higher figure, but the Interior Ministry has acknowledged a computer error affecting the data.
The revised number is around 1,400 to 1,500 minors still being accommodated in the enclave.
