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The city of Ceuta has witnessed one of its most eventful nights. On Monday evening, after thousands of migrants swam into the northern African enclave, incidents involving Moroccan migrants were recorded all over the city. According to La Verdad de Ceuta, newly arrived Moroccans «broke the door of the Juan Morejón school and invaded the center», around 11:30 pm.
Ya sólo falta esperar a la primera chispa que encienda una revuelta. Inmigrantes contra inmigrantes, caballas contra inmigrantes, las variables son casi infinitas.
— PuertoCeuta (@puertodeceuta) May 17, 2021
A little later, at around 11:50 p.m., the Spanish national police had to intervene during clashes in the suburb of Hadú - San José between Moroccan migrants, reports the local media. Footage shows an altercation between a man, who is said to be a Moroccan migrant, and the civil guard.
Other videos show civil guard interventions, using force, to dislodge minors who had come to hide in the garden of a house.
Scuffles, young children and a first death
The Moroccan authorities finally intervened, Monday evening, to disperse the crowd at the border post with Ceuta waiting to migrate irregularly.
Pues parece ser que las fuerzas auxiliares marroquíes Marruecos ?? han comenzado a dispersar a los marroquíes que esperaban en la zona cercana a la frontera de #Ceuta para cruzar @icembrero @elmundoes @el_pais @AlJazeera @puertodeceuta @elforodeceuta @AhoraCeuta @otazuelcano pic.twitter.com/7Q2l91kS7G
— KARIM PRIM (@KARIMPRIM) May 17, 2021
Auxiliary forces were thus deployed, in a contrast with the images shared during the day. Spanish politicians have referred earlier on Monday to «the passivity of the Moroccan authorities» in the face of this exodus.
According to Ceuta TV, a Moroccan drowned while trying to enter the Spanish enclave. «The age of the deceased is unknown, he was either a minor or just above the age of majority. His body was recovered by the health services which have been deployed in the area since 4.00 pm», added the local media. The same source reports that a baby was accompanied by his sister, barely three years old, who was rescued and then transferred to the city's university hospital, while the footage shows other young children, who would also have managed to cross.
In addition to Moroccans, hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants have taken to the road from several towns in the region to walk to the border and in turn attempt to enter the Spanish enclave.
Local and government authorities on alert
Mobilized since the beginning of these events, the Operational Cooperation Center (CECOR), called in urgently, and announced it was taking a series of measures. According to El Faro de Ceuta, a coordination committee made up of the state security forces, the local police and members of the Ceuta general command has been created to control all sensitive points of the city and maintain order in the streets. A joint action mechanism has already been created and it is operational. CECOR also asked the Civil Guard to strengthen its presence on the border, the dikes and the border perimeter.
The Benoliel stadium should accommodate adult Moroccans who are in the street and then proceed with their deportation to Morocco. As for the minors, they will be accommodated in Piniers and in the Tarajal warehouses.
The government delegation also asked the population to remain calm. «All the necessary actions are being carried out, in coordination with the Spanish government, to reverse the current situation and return to normal as quickly as possible», promises Madrid.
