Ceuta faces almost two months of migratory crisis with 10,000 people still in the city and 3,000 on its streets

The massive entry of people into Ceuta across the border with Morocco is now almost two months old. However, of the more than 70,000 people estimated to have entered the territory, this Friday, the Government of Pedro Sánchez estimates that around 10,000 migrants remain in the autonomous city, 6,000 would have been rehoused in safe places and between 3,000 and 4,000 would still be on the streets.

The figures estimated by the Executive come on the same day that the transfer of migrants who remained settled on the beaches of Ceuta began early this Friday, after the Audiencia Nacional rejected the very precautionary measure proposed by the Sindicato Unificado de Policía (SUP) to prevent the start-up of the camp set up on the esplanade of the Muelle de Poniente. The operation, supervised by the Security Forces and Corps, began with the aim of taking migrants from the Trampolín and Benítez beaches to the port facilities. In this context, the authorities had to intervene when several immigrants attempted to overcome the gathering point and advance running and en masse towards the Port of Ceuta.

The operation began around 6:30 a.m. with the deployment of several Civil Guard patrols on Trampolín beach to group the migrants and accompany them to the new reception facility. When the first groups arrived at Benítez beach, they joined the people who remained there, increasing the number of migrants advancing together towards the port.

Moments of tension occurred during the journey. The crowd initially began to trot along the road next to the beach and, minutes later, some of the migrants began to run, which made it difficult for the deployed agents to control the group. The situation was contained upon reaching the end of Benítez closest to the industrial area leading to the port, where National Police reinforcements joined.

The migrants remain in that area while agents organize the group to continue the displacement towards the port facilities. The main conditioning factor of the operation is the difference between the number of people remaining in the settlements and the capacity of the camp: while between El Trampolín and Benítez there are estimated to be more than 4,000 migrants, the facility enabled in the port has about 1,800 places.

The launch of the camp was cleared this Thursday after the National Court rejected the SUP's request to paralyze it. The union had appealed the use of about 16,000 square meters of the Poniente expansion of the Port of Ceuta for reasons related to security and had requested that the necessary conditions be accredited before its operation.