MADRID, Spain – More than 3,000 migrants who had been settled on the beaches of Benítez and El Trampolín were transferred on Friday to the new temporary facility enabled at the Port of Ceuta in a large police operation that recorded several moments of chaos and tension.
Soldiers Evacuated to Madrid Hospital After Ceuta Migrant Attack
The operation began first thing in the morning, while it was still dark, with the deployment of 170 National Police officers and another 70 Civil Guard personnel. Officers initially concentrated the people who were on Benítez beach and later those installed at El Trampolín. With the first light of day, both groups were gathered in the Benítez area to begin the walk towards the Muelle de Poniente. In videos circulated on social media, hundreds of people can be seen advancing along the promenade and the road while officers tried to keep the route organised. As the operation progressed, the first races occurred, with images showing groups of migrants trying to move ahead and approach the new centre before access to the new enclosure was organised.
The moments of greatest tension were recorded near the port facilities, when officers began dividing the migrants into groups of approximately one hundred people to allow staggered entry and proceed with their identification. In several videos circulated on social media, part of the group can be seen trying to overcome the police cordon and several migrants breaking into a run towards the enclosure while officers tried to contain the advance and reorganise the operation. The situation forced security forces to intervene to prevent an avalanche, and during those moments deterrent measures were used and shots were fired into the air. The episode was controlled in a short time and, after order was restored, the migrants remained grouped and seated on the road near the centre while officers authorised their entry gradually. Access is being carried out in groups and each person is being identified before entering facilities that are still being conditioned.
The new temporary facility, located on the esplanade of the Muelle de Poniente, has around 1,700 places, a capacity lower than the more than 3,000 people who remained in the two settlements targeted by the operation. The transfer will also allow authorities to know more precisely how many people remained in Benítez and El Trampolín and what their situation is, after adults and minors settled in both areas following the mass entry registered in Ceuta on 30 July.
European Parliament Calls Ceuta Assault An ‘Invasion’ And Blames Morocco
The operation was carried out after the National High Court rejected on Thursday the request by the Unified Police Union to provisionally halt the opening of the port camp. The government is working in parallel on enabling other spaces to expand reception capacity, including the football field of the Montesa number 3 barracks and a plot located behind the Fuerte Mendizábal prison.
