CEUTA, Spain – Twelve Moroccan migrants have been arrested in Ceuta after allegedly participating in an attack that injured four soldiers in the Benzú area, where a group of between 30 and 40 people ambushed them and threw large stones at their vehicle, according to sources from the Superior Police Headquarters. The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. when army personnel were heading to a surveillance point established in the Benzú area, and upon arrival, several individuals emerged from various points and surrounded the vehicle in which the soldiers were travelling, with the group beginning to throw stones at the car, causing significant damage.
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Under the intensity of the attack, the four soldiers abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot to get to safety, and during the pursuit, which extended towards Calamocarro, they continued to be hit by stones and suffered various injuries and contusions. The soldiers managed to alert emergency services through 112, activating a response involving National Police and Civil Guard officers, and upon the arrival of the first patrols, the alleged attackers fled towards Benzú, leading security forces to initiate a search operation that culminated in the arrest of twelve individuals, all of Moroccan nationality, with some of those involved attempting to escape by jumping into the sea, prompting the Civil Guard Maritime Service to continue search efforts in the area.
The four soldiers were subsequently transferred to a health centre to receive medical attention for the injuries sustained during the attack, and the investigation remains open to identify and locate the rest of those involved in the attack. The ambush coincided, though no information directly links it, with confrontations between some angry Ceuta residents and police, as organised groups of residents attempted to dismantle makeshift migrant camps by force and officers acted to prevent it.
The Union of Troop Soldiers expressed its most energetic repudiation and indignation over the ambush suffered by military personnel deployed in Ceuta, deeming the situation of operational and legal defenselessness to which members of the Armed Forces are subjected unacceptable, and denouncing the lack of a clear regulatory framework and rules of engagement that guarantee their physical safety and provide them with capacity for proportional response to attacks of this severity. The association recalled that for more than ten days they had formally warned about the real risk to which units stationed in the area were exposed, stating that the inaction of the Ministry of Defence and lack of foresight had led to an event that could and should have been avoided.
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The Association of Troop and Sailors of Spain also expressed its maximum concern over the seriousness of the events and the situation of extreme risk to which the four soldiers were exposed, who were unarmed and without adequate protection means, and has formally requested the Ministry of Defence for information on the injured and explanations regarding the protocols of action for personnel deployed in Ceuta. The Government of Ceuta, meanwhile, has called for calm and for not raising tension in the autonomous city, with Vice President Kissy Chandiramani stating that while Ceuta residents have every right to take to the streets to demand that administrations respond, this should be done calmly and with confidence that the situation will be resolved. The incident has heightened tensions in the autonomous city, where the situation has already been volatile since the mass entry of migrants in late July.
