Twelve Moroccan migrants arrested after attacking military patrol with stones in Benzú, Ceuta
A group of between 30 and 40 people ambushed an Army vehicle in Benzú, leaving four soldiers injured. Twelve arrested individuals of Moroccan nationality.
Ambush of soldiers in Benzú: twelve arrested following stone attack in Ceuta
Twelve people of Moroccan nationality were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday in Ceuta after allegedly participating in a stone attack against an Army patrol in the coastal hamlet of Benzú, according to confirmation from El País. The toll was four soldiers injured and material damage to the military vehicle.
The incident occurred around half past five in the morning, when personnel were heading towards a surveillance point in that area of the north-west of the autonomous city. Upon arrival at the location, between 30 and 40 people emerged unexpectedly from various points and surrounded the vehicle, against which they began throwing large stones. Given the intensity of the attack, the soldiers abandoned the transport and fled on foot; the assailants continued hurling objects at them during the pursuit.
The soldiers managed to alert emergency services through the 112 emergency number, which activated a joint operation involving the National Police and the Civil Guard. Upon arrival of the first patrols, the alleged assailants fled towards Benzú or threw themselves into the sea. The search concluded with the arrest of twelve participants, all of Moroccan nationality, with the collaboration of the Civil Guard's Maritime Service. The four injured soldiers were taken to a healthcare facility. The investigation remains open to identify the rest of those involved.
The incident occurred during a broader night of disturbances in Ceuta, in which security forces had to use anti-riot equipment to contain residents who were attempting to attack migrants on the beaches of El Trampolín and Benítez.
Benzú is a coastal zone that criminal gangs occasionally use to embark migrants bound for the peninsula. On 13 August, police had located at the same site a "speedboat" type vessel, with one or two outboard motors, beached on a rocky outcrop. According to the investigation, the vessel had travelled from La Línea de la Concepción to collect migrants in Ceuta and transport them across the Strait. That finding led days later to the arrest of five alleged members of two criminal groups that charged up to 9,000 euros for the journey to that town in Cádiz province.
Source: El País