Ceuta on edge as protests over migrant influx turn violent month after border surge

Ceuta erupted in fresh violence on Thursday as residents clashed with police during protests over the recent migrant influx, a month after one of the most chaotic mass border entries from Morocco in the enclave’s history.

Earlier in the day, dozens of demonstrators blocked Red Cross vehicles from reaching the beach to distribute food to hundreds of migrants, chanting “They should leave” and “Out with the Red Cross” before police dispersed them. Later, officers charged a group of protesters who had moved into the beach area where migrants have been camping; televised images showed some belongings burning as the confrontation escalated.

Late Wednesday, police fired tear gas to prevent confrontations between residents and migrants at the same beach. The wave of arrivals has turned Ceuta, a territory of just 18 square kilometers (seven square miles), into a zone of daily demonstrations over what residents call worsening security and sanitation.

Tensions rose again before dawn Thursday when a military vehicle carrying four soldiers was “ambushed” by about 70 migrants who attacked it with stones and other objects, according to a police spokesman. The soldiers fled and called for help. Police detained 12 migrants, all Moroccan, and one soldier suffered minor injuries after being struck by a stone. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Kissy Chandiramani, the autonomous city’s finance councilor, said the atmosphere in Ceuta was extremely tense and that residents felt abandoned by Madrid. “The tension in the city of Ceuta is very high,” she told radio station SER. “There is no response from the government, and we feel abandoned.” She appealed for calm, saying protests were legitimate but warning that increasing hostility would not solve the crisis.

The current wave of discontent traces back to late July, when more than 70,000 migrants swam around border barriers or walked in from neighboring Morocco in a chaotic entry that left scores dead and reignited European Union arguments over migration. Most were sent back to Morocco within hours, but thousands remain, many sleeping on the streets or in rough camps by the sea.

Official counts are sharply disputed. Spain’s left-wing government says between 3,500 and 7,000 migrants remain in Ceuta; the territory’s right-wing leadership insists the number is at least 10,000.

Justice Minister Félix Bolaños appealed for calm on Thursday, telling parliament that authorities were working “without rest” to restore normality. The central government has in recent days expanded shelter capacity and accelerated reviews to determine who can be returned to Morocco. On Thursday, the Interior Ministry said it would send additional personnel to help identify migrants, and the Cabinet earlier this week approved 25 million euros in extra funding for unaccompanied minors, who are entitled to special legal protection. The government also created a “single command” for Ceuta under Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres.

For Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the crisis has become a political liability. He has faced sharp criticism from Ceuta’s leaders and residents for responding too slowly, and from opponents for continuing his summer vacation while the situation deteriorated. He convened his national security council only after returning from vacation earlier this week.

With a general election expected in Spain next year, the migration emergency is sharpening political divisions. Conservative and far-right opposition parties are calling for the return of all migrants, while the government says every individual must be identified and assessed for asylum or deportation. Thousands of minors complicate any quick fix because they are entitled to special protection under Spanish and EU law.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the main opposition Popular Party, wrote on X on Thursday: “People in Ceuta have been putting up with this alone for a month. Nothing was done to prevent the invasion ... and nothing is being done to stop the public-order crisis that is worsening every day.”

Ceuta has long been a symbol of Europe’s migration divisions, but the scale of the late-July entry and the uneven response have made the challenge more acute. With migrants still camping in public spaces and local patience running out, the territory is a striking reminder of how quickly a border emergency can outpace the government’s ability to manage it — and how fast migration can move to the center of national politics.