Ceuta spirals into chaos as Spain’s Sánchez struggles to regain control

Ceuta, a Spanish territory, found itself in turmoil as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez grappled with controlling the situation. Spanish police resorted to firing shots into the air to clear thousands of migrants from a parking lot encampment near the city hospital. The scene was chaotic as officers used batons to guide the migrants towards the city center.

Spanish and EU officials had earlier assured the public that nearly all of the 72,000 migrants who crossed from Morocco to Ceuta had left the city. However, Sánchez admitted during a radio interview that around 5,000 migrants remained in the Spanish territory, a figure disputed by Ceuta Mayor-President Juan Jesús Vivas, who claimed that 10,000 unauthorized people were still present.

Among the remaining migrants are around 1,200 unaccompanied minors due to be transferred to shelters on the Iberian Peninsula in the coming weeks. Sánchez vowed that his government would resolve the crisis "with dignity" and in accordance with the law, which means allowing migrants to file asylum claims and have their cases considered, a process that could delay any deportations.

The unresolved situation has turned Ceuta into a theater of ongoing violence. Local residents, Spanish authorities, and the remaining migrants have clashed, with several Spanish soldiers injured after being pelted with stones by a group of migrants last week. Police also arrested three migrants accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a patrol.

The crisis is causing frustration among locals, who have been forced to endure weeks of chaos. Many feel that the migrants disrespect the city's residents, causing them to fear leaving their homes. Crime in the exclave has reportedly increased eightfold since July, though Spain's interior ministry declined to confirm this, stating they had yet to receive the latest crime statistics from Ceuta.

Ceuta's Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating 22 alleged sexual assaults targeting migrant women and girls and one case involving a man belonging to the LGBTQ+ community. Aid groups are caught in the middle of the violence, with activists facing death threats and attempts to obstruct Red Cross vehicles distributing food.