Ceuta migrant crisis: 2500 migrants still in the city

Ceuta: About 2,500 irregular migrants still remain in Ceuta, out of the tens of thousands who breached the border last week. They are Moroccans, but also from sub-Saharan Africa, media reported.

In Ceuta, four days after the massive influx of migrants that triggered a European Union (EU)-level crisis, the city centre is returning to apparent normality. According to the newspaper El Pais, on Tarajal beach, which last week was the main arrival point for the wave of migrants from neighbouring Morocco, some bathers were already seen yesterday, the first since the crisis began.

At the city centre, guarded by the Civil Guard and the army, tourists have returned. But just outside the centre, the situation is different. According to Spanish authorities, about 2,500 irregular migrants still remain in Ceuta. The city’s reception centre is overcrowded and has no more places, Italian News Agency Adnkronos reported.

According to reports, several people have found refuge in the Muslim cemetery of Sidi Embarek, where they sleep on tombstones and manage to wash themselves. The El Pais reporter states that the level of hostility towards the press, both from migrants and Ceuta citizens, is very high, due to the strong influx of journalists into the enclave from all over the world, including from “China and Russia”, as indicated by a resident of the Hadu neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, a back-and-forth is unfolding between Spain and Morocco over the management of the crisis. Rabat claims to have warned Spain about the risks associated with the effects of the Spanish Supreme Court ruling that makes the rejection of migrants arriving by sea more complex: “We explained that this ruling would create a problem for us. And the problem occurred,” it stressed.

“At no time was there any evidence or report indicating the scale of this unprecedented event,” replied Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saiz.

According to Rabat, contacts with Madrid began around July 22-23, when migrant communication networks had started spreading news of the ruling in question: “It is reductive to say that Morocco should have simply used force to stop them. It means not understanding anything about this phenomenon. It is not Morocco’s exclusive responsibility to manage this phenomenon. Today it is up to Spain to find answers to these challenges posed by this ruling.”

IANS