POLICE charged at migrants in Ceuta as hundreds stampeded through the streets while being transferred to a new temporary shelter early on Friday.
Striking video shows hundreds of migrants surging through the port promenade shortly after police began moving them from their makeshift beach camps at around 7am.
The transfer descended into chaos as the crowd began rushing forward, with officers striking several people and firing warning shots in a bid to restore order.
Police brought the situation under control shortly afterwards, with migrants then being moved to the new shelter in small groups, according to El Pais.
The new camp has been set up at Ceuta port’s Muelle de Poniente as part of a government effort to move migrants out of makeshift settlements at Benitez and El Trampolin beaches.
Tensions between migrants and locals have been growing since more than 70,000 people crossed into the small Spanish enclave from Morocco on July 30 and 31, with at least 141 dying in the attempt.
Though more than 90% of those have since crossed back into Morocco, around 5,000 people still remain in the enclave, according to government figures.
Many migrants have since been sleeping rough in the streets or in makeshift beach camps, stoking security concerns among Ceuta residents.
Authorities estimated the Benitez and El Trampolin camps were home to around 4,000 people.
The new Muelle de Poniente camp is intended to house about 1,700 people, officials say, with migrants rushing forward this morning in a bid to secure a place before space ran out.
A separate temporary camp in the Los Rosales area already took in 864 migrants on Sunday after they had been sleeping rough in the streets at Loma Colmenar neighbourhood.
The Ceuta crisis has driven deep political divisions in Spain, with the opposition accusing prime minister Pedro Sanchez of botching his handling of the emergency.
Right-wing Partido Popular (PP) and hard-right Vox say the socialist-led government failed to protect Ceuta’s border, while also accusing Morocco of being complicit in the massive surge.
Sanchez, the leader of socialist PSOE, has defended his government’s response, saying it acted swiftly and humanely.
Controversy erupted earlier this month after a leaked Spanish police report accused Moroccan forces of ‘passiveness’ during the July mass surge – an allegation Rabat has rejected and Sanchez has said there is no evidence to support.
In an attempt to quell the political turmoil prompted by the report, Sanchez ordered the release of previously classified intelligence documents.
However, some files suggested Spanish and Moroccan authorities had received warnings about a possible mass crossing.
The documents also revealed that Spain’s intelligence agency had warned officials in Ceuta of planned crossings the day before the influx, with Gonzalo Sanz, chief of staff to the government’s delegate in Ceuta, later resigning amid the fallout.
Meanwhile, the crisis has drawn a major response from Brussels, with the European Commission approving €114.7 million in emergency funding for Spain and deploying EU agencies to help manage the influx.
The European Parliament has since warned Morocco over its handling of the border, while Brussels is preparing new emergency measures for future mass migrant movements.
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