Thousands of migrants surged through the streets of Ceuta on Friday as Spanish authorities began moving people who had been sleeping on beaches and in public spaces to a new temporary camp at the port of the Spanish enclave in North Africa.
Video from the operation showed large groups running through the streets, cheering and shouting as police attempted to manage the transfer. Spanish media reported tense moments as crowds pressed toward the new facility, while Euronews reported that officers fired warning shots into the air as they struggled to control the movement of people.
Thousands of migrants surge through Ceuta as Spain moves them to new tent camp
The operation began early Friday morning and involved hundreds of police and security personnel. The new port facility has space for about 1,700 people and provides tents, beds, showers, toilets and food. EFE reported that more than 3,000 migrants were moved from the Benítez and Trampolín beaches during the operation, meaning the camp cannot accommodate everyone still in the city.
A city still reeling from the July crossing
The latest scenes come more than six weeks after an unprecedented mass crossing from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31. Spanish authorities say more than 72,000 people entered the enclave during those two days, a number approaching Ceuta’s own population.
Most have since left or been returned, but thousands remain. Ceuta’s local government estimated earlier this week that at least 13,000 migrants were still in the city, while Spain’s central government said Friday that security forces now put the figure at between 9,000 and 10,000.
The mass crossing into Ceuta in late July
(Video: Reuters)
Many had been sleeping on beaches or in makeshift encampments while Madrid and the local authorities argued over how to house them. The central government moved ahead with the port facility despite political tensions over the response to the crisis.
Pressure mounts on Sánchez
The crisis has become a major political challenge for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, with protests in Ceuta and elsewhere in Spain accusing his government of mishandling the influx and allowing the enclave’s security and public services to become overwhelmed.
Sánchez has rejected accusations that his government ignored the danger, while acknowledging that authorities did not anticipate the scale of the influx. Declassified documents released this month showed, however, that Spain’s National Intelligence Center, or CNI, warned the government delegation in Ceuta and Moroccan intelligence on July 29 about organized calls on social media for people to enter the enclave by sea and over the border fence the following day.
Pro-Ceuta, anti-Pedro Sánchez protest in Málaga, Spain
(Photo: Thomas COEX / AFP)
The documents included messages referring to social media groups with large followings that were openly discussing attempts to cross into Ceuta during Morocco’s Throne Day celebrations. Sánchez has argued that while authorities had indications of possible attempts, they were not warned that an influx on such an extraordinary scale was imminent.
Sánchez has also accused networks linked to Russia and Israel, along with what he called an international far-right movement, of spreading and amplifying disinformation surrounding the Ceuta crisis. He cited research by the European Union’s foreign policy service, though he did not publicly provide detailed evidence tying the campaigns directly to either government. Israel and Russia have denied involvement.
The dispute comes as questions over Ceuta’s future have again surfaced in relations between Spain and Morocco. Sánchez told parliament this month that Ceuta and the nearby enclave of Melilla “have been Spanish for centuries” and said Madrid’s commitment to Spanish sovereignty over both cities remained absolute.
For Ceuta, however, the immediate problem remains much more practical: thousands of migrants are still in the small enclave, the new port camp has only a fraction of the beds required, and Madrid has acknowledged that additional accommodation will have to be found.