The transfer of migrants from the beaches of Ceuta begins with tension: races and police reinforcements to reach the port camp

The transfer of migrants who remain settled on the beaches of Ceuta began this Friday morning, after the Audiencia Nacional rejected the precautionary measure filed 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, started with the aim of taking migrants from the Trampolín and Benítez beaches to the port facilities.

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 were already there, increasing the number of migrants moving together towards the port.

During the journey, there were moments of tension. The crowd initially began to jog along the road next to the beach and, minutes later, some of the migrants started running, which made it difficult for the deployed officers 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 officers organize the group to continue the displacement towards the port facilities. The main constraint of the operation is the difference between the number of people remaining in the settlements and the capacity of the camp: while between Trampolín and Benítez there are estimated to be more than 4,000 migrants, the facility set up in the port has about 1,800 places.

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