Spanish military personnel, working together with police and the Civil Guard, are scouring the streets and coastal areas of the autonomous city of Ceuta in search of concealed migrants, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports.
Patrols are inspecting areas under bridges, near residential buildings, in parks, tunnels, and pipes, as well as checking rooftops and other potential hiding spots for undocumented arrivals.
In one incident, troops pursued a group of fleeing migrants. During the chase, one law‑enforcement officer struck a migrant with a baton, while the others tried to disappear among nearby buildings.
Migrants who are found are escorted towards the Tarajal border crossing, with officers ensuring they stay on the designated route. However, some break away from the escorts and return to the city’s central districts.
Tension is palpable on both sides. Military and law‑enforcement personnel, who have been operating under heightened alert for several days, are acting with increasing firmness. Meanwhile, many migrants appear exhausted and agitated due to shortages of food, water, and sleep, and often react aggressively when officials try to direct them to the border.
Ceuta faced a massive influx of migrants from Morocco in late July. On Friday, the city’s mayor‑president, Juan Jesús Vivas, stated that around 60,000 people had entered Ceuta from Morocco within a single day. The crisis triggered unrest in the city, prompting authorities to deploy additional units of police, the Civil Guard, and the armed forces.
Ceuta is a Spanish enclave on the northern coast of Africa, bordering Morocco. Together with Melilla, it forms the European Union’s only land border with Africa and is considered one of the key routes for irregular migration into the EU.
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