Anti-migrant protests in Ceuta turn violent as police clash with residents
Clashes erupted in Ceuta after residents protested against thousands of migrants still in the enclave following a mass July crossing. Spain's interior minister urged calm.
Ceuta protests: clashes after mass migrant influx strains Spain's North African enclave
Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska called for calm in parliament on Thursday after residents of Ceuta clashed with police during demonstrations against migrants still present in the territory, RTÉ News reports.
Tensions have been running high in the enclave of 80,000 people since at least 60,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta over several days in July, triggering a Europe-wide alert. Spain's government says the majority have since left the 18.5 square kilometre territory, but thousands remain on the streets and beaches of the enclave.
Protests intensified in recent days. At a beach where migrants have been sleeping, some demonstrators clashed with police and burned belongings left there. In a separate incident, a soldier was injured after migrants threw stones at troops, and 12 Moroccan nationals were arrested. Two further arrests followed after migrants attacked a police officer, according to sources cited by RTÉ News.
"Violence is not the answer," Grande-Marlaska told parliament. "I call for calm and an end to any form of violence, because violence is not the way to resolve any problem with the complexity of that facing Ceuta," he added.
The head of Ceuta's local government, Juan Vivas, said peaceful protests "to demand the return to normality" were justified, but warned that authorities would act against anyone committing acts of vandalism. "No one can or should take the law into their own hands," he said in an institutional address. "The defence of Ceuta and the interests of its people can only be pursued through legality."
Right-wing and far-right parties have demanded that all migrants be gathered and returned to their countries of origin. Grande-Marlaska accused those parties of "inciting hatred and confrontation" in the enclave.
The government has stated that each individual must be identified to establish whether they qualify for asylum or are subject to deportation. Unaccompanied minors, authorities note, require special protection under existing rules.
Ceuta and Melilla, a second small Spanish territory on the North African coast, together form Europe's only land border with Africa.
Source: RTÉ News