Protesters in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta set fire to a migrant camp on Thursday and demanded that thousands of recent arrivals be returned to Morocco.
Spanish police intervened to separate the demonstrators from the migrants, who were moved to a nearby pier for safety.
The violence broke out along the coastline, where migrants had been living in makeshift shelters for several weeks. At Benitez beach, footage showed citizens repeatedly throwing objects onto a burning fire. Nearby, at Trampolin beach, demonstrators attempted to block Spanish Red Cross vehicles that were delivering food and water to the migrants.
Protesters at Trampolin beach also set fire to several migrant huts and burned two straw umbrellas at an adjacent camp. Police moved in to clear the crowd and safeguard the area.
Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city situated on the North African coast, sharing a border with Morocco along the Mediterranean. Along with the nearby Spanish enclave of Melilla, it forms the only direct land border between the European Union and an African nation.
Mass influx and legal protections
The unrest follows a massive crossing event in late July, when up to 80,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco, with many swimming around coastal border barriers. Official figures state that at least 96 people died during the crossing.
While Spanish authorities led most of the migrants back to Morocco in the days immediately after the crossing, several thousand people remain stranded in the enclave.
Spain's conservative opposition parties, including the right-wing People's Party and the far-right Vox party, have referred to the arrivals as an invasion and demanded the immediate deportation of all remaining migrants. However, Spanish court rulings and international agreements prohibit mass pushbacks, requiring every asylum claim or deportation to be processed on an individual basis.
Authorities believe that around 1,500 children and teenagers are among the migrants remaining in Ceuta. Unaccompanied minors are entitled to special legal protections under Spanish law. Approximately 500 of these minors, predominantly girls, are classified as extremely vulnerable and are scheduled to be transferred to mainland Spain.
Political fallout in Madrid
The situation in Ceuta has created severe political pressure for the centre-left coalition government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Opposition leaders have accused the administration of failing to act and leaving local residents in Ceuta to cope with the fallout.
The Socialist government is also facing scrutiny over conflicting accounts regarding whether ministers received advance warning of the July crisis.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles said that Spain's CNI intelligence agency, which reports to her ministry, warned officials one day before the mass crossing attempt occurred. However, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and other government officials maintained that no warning had been given regarding the actual scale of the incoming crisis.
Prime Minister Sanchez is expected to address the Spanish parliament next week to respond to the crisis, which has drawn international reactions.
