Red Cross aid is blocked in Ceuta as Madrid takes charge of the response
Demonstrators in Ceuta blocked Red Cross vehicles from reaching the beach where migrants were staying; camps were set alight and police dispersed the crowd. The unrest further strained living conditions for thousands left in the city after the mass crossing from Morocco in late July. Madrid centralised management of the response, while every party in the local assembly signed a joint declaration condemning violence.
Geopolitics··Night
Red Cross vehicles were stopped from reaching the beach
Dozens of demonstrators in Ceuta staged a sit-in on Thursday and stopped Red Cross vehicles carrying food and water from reaching the beach where migrants were staying. Euronews reports that protesters waved Spanish flags and chanted against the aid convoy before police dispersed them. BBC News says camps on the beach were set alight and clashes broke out with police. Officers moved against protesters entering the area where migrants slept, while the fires further reduced shelter for people already living in temporary conditions.[1], [2]
Thousands remained after the July crossing
According to the Ceuta mayor's figures reported by BBC News, on 30 and 31 July at least 72,000 people crossed from Morocco, most swimming around the border fence, and at least 100 died. Most who crossed returned quickly, but several thousand remained in the city, many of them children. The demonstrations erupted about a month after that mass crossing. Blocking the aid vehicles directly affected access to basic supplies for those still living in the city.[1]
Madrid centralised management of the response
Madrid centralised management of the migrant response and planned to move people into public buildings while their status was processed. Every party in the Ceuta assembly signed a joint declaration condemning violence on Friday. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said rhetoric stigmatising migrants was feeding social division, while representatives of the People's Party and Vox accused the government of abandoning the city. BBC News also reports that Vox member of Congress José María Figaredo is under investigation for a possible hate crime.[1]
