Spanish police launch operation to clear migrant camp on beach in Ceuta ahead of King Felipe’s historic visit

Spanish police launched an operation to clear a migrant camp on El Trampolin beach in Ceuta early on Sunday morning. According to Investing.com, around 3,000 people were living in tents and makeshift homes on the beach for two months. The police, backed by armoured vehicles, military trucks, and Guardia Civil boats, moved the migrants to temporary accommodation where they will be processed or can return to Morocco.

The migrant camp was one of several that sprang up in Ceuta after over 72,000 people crossed the border from Morocco into the enclave in late July. While most of the migrants have since left, at least 10,000 remain in Ceuta, straining local resources and fuelling tensions. Locals held a demonstration on Saturday calling for the migrants to leave.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia are due to visit Ceuta on October 13-14, marking the first time King Felipe has visited the enclave in his 12-year reign. The visit comes amid longstanding friction with Morocco, which claims sovereignty over Ceuta and Spain's other North African enclave, Melilla.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Olive Press, Investing.com — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.