A food distribution turns into police charges and tear gas in Ceuta

Tensions rose on Tuesday, August 25, at around 7 p.m. on Trampolín beach. The Red Cross was organizing its daily food distribution there when several clashes broke out between groups of migrants, according to police sources cited by Ceuta al Día.

Faced with the disorder, the Spanish National Police deployed its riot-control units. The officers carried out several charges and used tear gas to disperse the people gathered there and regain control of the area.

The scene quickly descended into panic. Hundreds of migrants hurriedly left the beach, some running toward the access road and others toward the breakwater. Local police halted traffic around Trampolín to facilitate the intervention and prevent the unrest from spreading to neighboring areas.

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According to police sources interviewed by EFE, these were “isolated” and “deterrent” actions. No injuries had been reported immediately. No figures on arrests had been released either.

Trampolín beach has become one of the main gathering places for migrants who remained in Ceuta after the massive entry on July 30. Thousands of people have slept there or waited for a place in reception facilities, with considerable needs for food, water and hygiene products.

The beach had already been evacuated

Just a few days before these clashes, the authorities had nevertheless organized the evacuation of nearly 1,700 migrants staying on this beach. They were escorted on foot by police to the temporary facilities at Loma Margarita and Loma Colmenar.

But only a few hours after the operation, around 500 young people, mainly from the Maghreb, had returned to Trampolín. Some felt that the facilities offered did not match their situation, or continued to hope that they would be transferred to mainland Spain.

The concentration of thousands of people in the same place makes distributions particularly difficult. Queues grow longer around mealtimes, while associations and mobilized residents try to respond to an emergency that exceeds their capacity. One resident of Ceuta had turned her home into an aid center welcoming 400 migrants a day.

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The incidents at Trampolín demonstrate the fragility of the situation nearly a month after the mass crossing from Morocco. Despite the opening of new centers, many migrants continue to depend on daily distributions. On Tuesday evening, an operation intended to provide them with food ended under police charges and amid clouds of tear gas.