Shots fired in Ceuta to disperse more than 5,000 migrants at Loma Colmenar
The National Police forcibly dispersed an encampment of thousands of migrants in Ceuta, firing warning shots into the air amid resistance from the young people gathered at Loma Colmenar.
Police forcibly clear migrant encampment at Loma Colmenar in Ceuta
The National Police fired warning shots into the air on Monday to disperse thousands of migrants gathered near the Loma Colmenar car park, on the outskirts of Ceuta, according to El Mundo. Riot police subsequently established a police cordon in the area whilst cleaning teams removed hundreds of kilograms of rubbish accumulated over days of waiting.
A senior officer of the Local Police put the number of migrants concentrated in the area at around 5,000. "They were bothering residents at night, with brawls, thefts and even sexual assaults," that officer told El Mundo. Police sources added that the warning shots did not generate more serious incidents: "We had to fire warning shots, but it was not very problematic."
More than a thousand people had been queuing for ten days in front of the facilities, where the Army had deployed 25 large tents equipped with bunk beds. The objective of those gathered was to obtain a place in the facility, which offers access to food, water and basic hygiene measures. A widespread rumour—and false, according to the authorities—held that those who gained access to the facility would obtain documentation to regularise their status in Europe in an accelerated manner.
The tents were completely occupied within hours, mainly by people who had been sleeping in shacks on Trampolín beach. The shortage of places fuelled the enormous queues formed in the surroundings, where migrants also watched the expansion works at the facility. On Monday morning, the Army opened a new white tent and allowed several hundred people to enter, but the majority were left outside, which triggered the scenes of tension that preceded the clearance.
The Loma Colmenar space had been prepared by the Government so that migrants would stop sleeping in public spaces. Prior to the large migration wave recorded last month, the esplanade was used as a waiting area for vehicles bound for Morocco.
The clearance caused confusion and distress among those affected, many of whom wandered through Ceuta this morning in search of a new place to settle. Ahmed, 29 years old, identified as one of the group's unofficial leaders, summarised the situation in fluent Spanish: "They throw us off the beach, they throw us out of here, where do they want us to go?" Residents of the area, mostly Arabic-speaking and Muslim, had provided migrants with food and toiletries, although at the same time they were demanding that they leave the neighbourhood.
Source: El Mundo