Ceuta: Police clear last migrant camp ahead of royal visit
Around 400 people were still living on Guano beach. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visit the Spanish enclave in North Africa on Tuesday.
Symbolic image · Photo: MONUMENTA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Spanish police on Sunday cleared the camp on Guano beach in the enclave of Ceuta, according to Euronews the last remaining migrant camp in the city. The operation by the National Police, Civil Guard, riot units and local police began shortly after 8 am. Around 400 people were still there at the time; some fled to the nearby hills. Minors found at the site were housed separately from adults.
The people were taken by bus to the temporary reception centre for foreigners (CATE) for registration and then moved to government camps. At the end of July, more than 70,000 people crossed irregularly from Morocco into Ceuta, Euronews reports. Two people died while the camp existed, and a parallel economy with street markets developed there. Clean-up crews removed tents and rubbish. Environmental experts are now to assess the significant damage to the beach.
Two days after the clearance, on Tuesday, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are expected in Ceuta. They are to attend a tribute to those who died at sea during the mass crossing at the Tarajal border, before travelling on to Melilla. It will be the first time a Spanish monarch has stayed overnight in Ceuta since Alfonso XIII's visits in 1904 and 1927.