MADRID, Spain – The government estimates that around 10,000 migrants remain in Ceuta following the mass entry registered at the end of July, according to the latest estimates from the state security forces deployed on the ground. Of these, some 6,000 people are already housed in the temporary accommodation enabled by the administration, while around 4,000 remain outside, distributed among the streets, hills and beaches of the autonomous city.
Shots Fired In The Air And Moments Of Tension As 3,000 Migrants Transferred From Ceuta Beaches
The figures were released during the operation deployed on Friday to transfer 1,700 migrants from the settlements on Benítez and El Trampolín beaches to the new temporary reception centre installed at the Muelle de Poniente. Sources from Moncloa indicated that all available places in the two plots were filled just hours after beginning to receive the first occupants. However, the central government’s estimates differ from those handled by the Ceuta executive. The first vice president of Ceuta, Alejandro Ramírez, raised the number of migrants still remaining in the city to nearly 13,000 on Friday, compared with the around 10,000 calculated by Moncloa.
According to the breakdown offered by Ramírez, some 4,100 migrants are in camps, to which are added the 1,700 transferred on Friday to the port. Around 3,000 remain at El Trampolín, another 1,000 in streets or hillside areas and 1,000 at the CETI, including migrants who arrived before the crisis. To these figures are added 2,100 minors already registered, although the Ceuta executive estimates the real number of children could exceed 3,000. Ramírez explained that this is a very conservative estimate drawn from official data reported since the mass entry occurred. The Ceuta government starts from the premise that some 20,000 people remained in the city after those events and considers that the departures registered since then would now place the number at around 13,000.
In fact, Moncloa admits that it is difficult to establish an exact figure for the people who remain in Ceuta because some stay in hillside areas or in homes. It also explains that not all may have entered from 30 July onwards, but that there may also be people who had arrived earlier.
Nevertheless, the government considers it indispensable to concentrate these people in delimited spaces where they can receive attention, be registered and begin the corresponding administrative procedures to proceed with their return. The sources state that the sooner they are in those spaces, the sooner returns will be carried out and the sooner the longed-for normality will be recovered.
The transfer operation to the port began first thing in the morning and mobilised 170 National Police officers, including members of the Police Intervention Unit, drone technicians and personnel from various units, as well as around 70 Civil Guard officers belonging to the GRS and USECIC. Access to the new reception centre, which is still being conditioned, began after 9.30am and finished towards midday. The operation was marked at the beginning by moments of tension when several groups began running to try to reach the port and secure one of the available places, breaking through the police cordon at a run. The situation forced security forces to intervene to regain control and prevent an avalanche. During those moments deterrent measures were used and shots were fired into the air, according to information gathered by Efe at the location. After order was restored, the migrants remained seated on the road near the new centre waiting for officers to gradually authorise their entry.
The image after the operation, however, confirmed that the transfer does not yet mean the end of the beach settlements, given that once the available places were filled, numerous migrants who had been waiting behind the police cordon began the journey back upon realising they would not be able to access the enclosure.
Despite the initial moments of tension, government sources considered the operation completed and maintain that it developed normally, without notable incidents. They add that 1,700 migrants had never before been mobilised simultaneously and that even so it worked, went well and they were able to manage it in a few hours. The Minister of Territorial Policy and head of the single command in Ceuta, Ángel Víctor Torres, also celebrated that no relevant altercations were registered and thanked the actions of the state security forces. The objective now, he indicated, is to identify the migrants, initiate their files and proceed with the return of those who cannot legally remain in Spain.
Four Migrants Stab Ceuta Resident After Attempting To Rob His Phone And Gold Chain
However, National Police officers have denounced the government’s improvisation in the chaotic transfer. The secretary general of JUPOL, Aarón Rivero, highlighted this situation and warned that thousands of immigrants cannot fit in the port. In this sense, he denounced the government’s lack of foresight and the lack of security guarantees for officers. Meanwhile, the government plans to enable new sites to house those who still remain on the street. Among the planned spaces is the football field of the Montesa number 3 barracks, belonging to the Cavalry Regiment, and consideration is being given to enabling a plot located behind the Fuerte Mendizábal prison, with an estimated capacity for some 2,000 people
