Spain begins clearing migrant camp in Ceuta after mass border influx

Spanish police and the Civil Guard launched an operation Thursday morning, August 20, to clear an informal migrant camp on El Trampolin beach in the autonomous city of Ceuta, with about 4,000 migrants expected to be evicted from the site.

According to El Mundo, around 30 police vehicles established a cordon along a roughly half-kilometre perimeter around the makeshift tent camp, which was set up following a mass border breach from Morocco in late July.

Spain's Interior Ministry plans to transfer the migrants to temporary accommodation centres currently being built in Ceuta. Their asylum applications will be processed there, while in most cases authorities are expected to initiate procedures for their return to Morocco, El Mundo reported.

The decision to dismantle the camp was taken by police and local authorities on Wednesday evening, according to the newspaper.

The operation follows a major influx at the end of July, when tens of thousands of migrants reached Ceuta by swimming and on foot after bypassing the breakwater separating the city from Morocco. In response to the crisis, Madrid decided to deploy military personnel to assist with security in the city.

Spanish authorities believe the overwhelming majority of those who arrived have already returned to Morocco. However, they estimate that around 5,000 migrants could still be in Ceuta.

The influx has also placed the city's healthcare system under severe pressure. Doctors have warned of the risk of infectious diseases and a potential epidemic, while ABC reported that medical staff are working under extreme strain amid a critical shortage of resources.

According to medical workers cited by the newspaper, at least 200 cases of acute gastroenteritis, 20 cases of scabies, 21 cases of impetigo and four cases of tuberculosis have been identified in the city. A separate outbreak of scabies affecting 30 military personnel has also been recorded.

By Tamilla Hasanova