Spain Clears Last Ceuta Beach Camp

Spanish police backed by soldiers cleared the last migrant camp on a beach in the North African enclave of Ceuta on Sunday, two days before a visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, ending a makeshift settlement that housed about 3,000 people.

Officers arrived shortly after 8am at El Trampolin, the beach where the camp had formed. Migrants were loaded onto buses and taken to reception centres for processing, though some fled into the nearby hills to avoid the operation. Cleaning crews then moved in to dismantle the improvised tents and clear the beach and the adjoining esplanade.

The camp was a legacy of a mass influx of more than 70,000 people into Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco at the end of July. Scores of people died during the surge, which alarmed the European Union and set off a political crisis in Madrid. Most of those who crossed went back within a few days, but thousands stayed, sleeping on the streets or on beaches in the enclave.

Spain has faced criticism for the slowness of its response, and the situation has stoked tensions in the territory. Africanews, which carried the AFP report, has separately reported that teenage migrants are still living on the streets, and that three European lawmakers described the humanitarian situation in Ceuta as “grim” on 30 September.

The king and queen are scheduled to visit Ceuta on Tuesday and then travel to Melilla, Spain’s other North African enclave. It will be the first trip to the two territories by a Spanish monarch since 2007. Morocco claims sovereignty over both enclaves, which sit between Moroccan territory and the Mediterranean.

It is not known exactly how many people were moved on Sunday, where the reception centres are, or what will happen to those who fled into the hills.