National police on Thursday launched a large-scale operation on Trampolin Beach in Ceuta to evict 4,000 migrants who had set up camp on the coast.
Agents from the Police Intervention Unit (UIP) are surrounding the area to move this group of people to one of the facilities set up by the government. There they will await the processing of their asylum applications, and immigration service staff will conduct their identification.
More than a dozen police vehicles have gathered around the beach to support their colleagues. Law enforcement officers are urging migrants to take their belongings and leave the area peacefully. They are being directed to two facilities — Loma Margarita and El Embolsamiento, which together can accommodate 1,800 people.
Increasing tension and previous incidents
This police operation comes weeks after a mass arrival of migrants to Ceuta on 30 and 31 July. In recent days, tensions have risen between the Moroccan and sub-Saharan communities, between whose representatives conflicts have already occurred.
The biggest incident happened last Sunday — a mass fight over the theft of a mobile phone, as sources in the police reported to ABC. After this, two groups were formed to separate representatives of both communities and prevent new conflicts. Moroccans remained in Loma Margarita, while other migrants went to facilities in Loma Colmenar, near the Tarajal border.
The operation to evict migrants from Trampolin Beach also involves Civil Guard agents, who are collaborating with the National Police. In addition, Red Cross volunteers are present on site, explaining to migrants the next steps and the reasons for the operation organized by the Ministry of the Interior.
Source: ABC.es
