Residents in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta stormed a makeshift migrant camp and set it ablaze on Thursday amid mounting frustration over a recent surge in arrivals from neighboring Morocco. The incident occurred as Spain's interior minister urged calm and condemned the violence.
The confrontation unfolded as video footage showed hundreds of locals charging down a camp on the beach, throwing migrants' belongings into the water and unfurling Spanish flags. The protesters then torched the camp while migrants watched. Police were present but did not immediately intervene, forming a barrier between the groups as chants could be heard.
This action follows a period of significant tension after more than 70,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco last month. While most have since returned, an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 individuals remain, with some establishing temporary encampments on the beach.
Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska addressed the situation, stating, "Violence is not the answer." He appealed for calm and an end to all forms of violence, emphasizing that it is not a solution for complex issues.
Demonstrations by Ceuta residents have become more frequent, with clashes reported between protesters and police earlier in the week. In a separate incident on Thursday, a soldier was injured when migrants reportedly threw stones at troops, leading to 12 arrests.
Juan Vivas, the head of Ceuta's local government, acknowledged that peaceful protests against the migrants were understandable but condemned acts of vandalism. He asserted that taking the law into one's own hands is unacceptable and that Ceuta's defense must occur through legal means.
Political parties on the right and far-right have called for the immediate expulsion of all migrants. Grande-Marlaska accused these parties of inciting hatred in the enclave, particularly with a general election scheduled for next year.
In response to the growing migrant numbers, Spanish government officials held a meeting to develop a contingency plan. The government declared the situation a matter of national security, leading to the approval of a "single command" structure for Ceuta, headed by territorial policy minister Angel Victor Torres, to better organize and coordinate resources from various administrations. This followed public protests in recent days against the central government's handling of the migrant influx.