Tensions are rising in Ceuta. Clashes between police and migrants have again been reported in the autonomous region of Spain. Video footage from Sunday showed a group of migrants carrying an injured man in a blanket. The group was also seen shouting “Allahu Akbar” and claiming that the man had been beaten by police. Later, Spanish National Police officers beat the group of migrants with batons.
Ceuta is an autonomous city in Spain, located on the coast of North Africa. This town, separated from the Spanish mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar, is adjacent to the Moroccan border. Infiltrators often enter there from Morocco. But since last Thursday, the number has suddenly started increasing rapidly. On that day, about 60,000 infiltrators swam into the Spanish city from Morocco. Since then, clashes have been ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Supreme Court recently ruled that refugees coming from Ceuta and Melilla cannot be sent back to Morocco. The Ceuta protests have also spread to Melilla since Friday. Cars have been burned in many places. There have also been reports of attempts to forcefully enter and occupy homes of many refugees in the two cities.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Ceuta on Friday, where he was met with jeers and protests from protesters. He called the influx of people across the border a “violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty” and said the process of returning illegal immigrants was being accelerated with the full cooperation of Morocco. But the deadlock has not yet been resolved. The incident has brought to the fore Europe’s internal conflict over migration policy, according to experts.