Ceuta warns it is 'on the brink of collapse' as Spain seeks Frontex and Europol help
Meanwhile, Spain's interior minister called for calm after Ceuta residents clashed with police during protests against migrants who have remained in the enclave following a mass influx.
In a request addressed to Beate Gminder, the European Commission's director general for migration and home affairs, Spain has sought assistance from the Frontex agency to process migrants who entered Ceuta last month and are still present in the North African Spanish territory. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska submitted the request to Gminder.
Madrid has also requested an additional 10 Frontex officers to aid in the screening process. Over 70,000 migrants crossed from Morocco to Ceuta illegally in late July, leading to a significant EU migration emergency. While most were promptly returned to Morocco, approximately 5,000 migrants remain in Ceuta, a city with a population of roughly 80,000 residents.
The presence of these migrants has been met with strong rejection from Ceuta's residents, leading to protests that have sometimes turned violent. The migrants have established a camp on Trampolin Beach, where some tents have been burned in response to growing anger. Twelve migrants were arrested on Thursday after throwing stones at an army vehicle, injuring one soldier and other migrants. Eleven migrants were expelled from the territory according to sources from the city's main court.
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