SOME 21 Moroccan migrants have been identified and arrested after throwing stones and rocks at soldiers and Guardia Civil officers in Ceuta as tensions in the north African enclave continue to grow.
The incident happened on Saturday night near El Trampolin beach, where the largest informal camp was established shortly after more than 80,000 migrants poured into Spanish territory on July 30 and July 31.
According to El Pais, police sources confirmed that nobody was injured and no material damage was reported during the attack.
Following their arrest, the 21 migrants reportedly agreed to return to Morocco ‘voluntarily’.
The incident comes just 10 days after 12 other Moroccan migrants were arrested over a similar stone-throwing attack in Benzu, a coastal area of Ceuta where criminal gangs are known to operate migrant smuggling routes towards mainland Spain.
It also comes amid growing concern that people-smuggling gangs are beginning to establish routes that would allow thousands of the migrants remaining in Ceuta to head to mainland Spain.
Footage shared by Guardia Civil union JUCIL appears to show speedboats practicing routes around the coves of Ceuta’s northern bay, including El Trampolin beach.
The union has warned that the boats could be rehearsing a maritime corridor towards the bay of Cadiz, raising fears that criminal gangs could attempt to transport migrants across the Strait of Gibraltar and onto the Spanish mainland.
JUCIL has also highlighted what it describes as a serious lack of Guardia Civil patrol boats in the area, warning that the force could struggle to respond if such crossings begin.
“It is clear as day here that neither informational notes nor reports from the Guardia Civil or Policia Nacional are needed to detect the start of a problem that could become extremely serious and dangerous,” the union said in a post on X.
“We’ve all seen that the lack of patrol boats is scandalous. And, of the few that exist, many aren’t even in any condition to head out to sea or confront the mafias behind illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
“Are they going to wait until mass arrivals to the Peninsula become a reality, or are they going to take decisive measures and urgently request support from the Navy before the situation spirals out of control.”
On Friday, a Gibraltar teenager was arrested on suspicion of ferrying migrants from Ceuta in a speedboat in an incident that triggered a diplomatic row between Gibraltar and Spain.
The 19-year-old was arrested after a dramatic pursuit by the Guardia Civil in Spanish waters ended with a migrant-smuggling vessel entering Gibraltar waters.
READ MORE: Political round-up: PM Pedro Sanchez battles growing Ceuta backlash as opposition turns up the heat
The incident marks the first known arrival in Gibraltar linked to the movement of migrants from Ceuta since the border crisis began.
The incident has since developed into a political dispute over Gibraltar’s territorial waters.
The Gibraltar government said it had received footage showing a Guardia Civil vessel entering water it claims as its own jurisdiction, describing the situation as ‘potentially very serious’.
It later referred to the Spanish patrol boat’s presence as an ‘incursion’.
In a post on X, opposition leader Keith Azopardi said: “Concerning footage of a Guardia Civil vessel in our port. Clear operation wasn’t originally coordinated with our authorities. That’s unacceptable.”
The sovereignty of the waters surrounding Gibraltar remains disputed, despite the recent post-Brexit treaty, with Spain and Gibraltar holding opposing positions over its jurisdiction.
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