Spanish authorities moved several thousand migrants from Ceuta’s beaches to a tent camp in the port early on Friday morning. The camp can hold at most 1,500 to 1,700 people, but an estimated 4,000 or more were on the beaches. A crush broke out during the operation, and police fired shots.

The operation began shortly after 6:30 am on the Trampolín and Benítez beaches. Civil Guard patrols escorted the migrants on foot to a temporary camp set up in the port’s industrial area, Euronews reported. According to El País, around 150 officers took part. A crush formed in the crowd, and several people were injured when shots were fired. The exact number of people will only be known after registration. The National reports that 5,000 to 10,000 migrants may currently be in the city.

The fifth temporary camp

The port facility is already the fifth temporary reception site the Spanish government has set up since the crisis began. The crisis started in late July, when tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco into the city over a single weekend.

The camp was also fought over in court. The Spanish police union (SUP) tried to stop a tent camp being built in the port, which is classified as critical infrastructure. The National Court rejected the request one day before the move.

“The port is not a safe place,” said union spokesperson Ana Alarcón.

“The government is improvising”

Local leaders make no secret of their frustration. Ceuta’s vice-president, Alejandro Ramírez, said reported incidents in the port rose from 80 to more than 1,000 in 50 days, and that the government in Madrid is improvising.

It has also emerged that warning signs were there before the crisis. According to The National, alerts circulated on 29 July calling on people to “storm the fence and come by sea.” They were shared on Facebook and in WhatsApp groups with more than 180,000 members. The information, however, only reached a low-ranking official in Ceuta and was never passed on to decision-makers.

Prime Minister Sánchez says his government received no advance warning, and he has declassified 40 documents about the crisis. His critics point to his month-long summer holiday and his attempt to shift blame onto Morocco. Sánchez called other EU countries “selfish” for not helping Spain.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the centre-right People’s Party, sees it differently: “When a European border is violated, all of Europe is weakened.” He called on the EU to put pressure on the Spanish government.

Italy keeps its border closed

The effects of the crisis are already felt beyond Spain. Spain and Italy extended the suspension of Schengen free movement between them by another 15 days. The Italian Interior Ministry justified the decision by saying that “significant risks to internal security persist, alongside a potential threat linked to possible terrorist infiltration.”

Madrid looks to Brussels for help

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares presented a package of proposals to tie Ceuta and Melilla more closely to the EU. They are the only two European cities on the African continent. The package includes:

• a permanent seat for each city on the EU’s Committee of the Regions,
• a bigger Frontex presence,
• special treatment in the next seven-year EU budget,
• gradual integration of both cities into the EU Customs Union.

The images from Ceuta show what happens when tens of thousands arrive at an external border within a few days. Reception capacity runs out, local authorities and police are overwhelmed, and tensions keep rising weeks later.