Spain returns 21 migrants to Morocco after stone-throwing attack in Ceuta

Twenty-one Moroccan migrants detained in Ceuta after stones were thrown at a military patrol and Civil Guard officers have been returned to Morocco. They acknowledged taking part in the incident and voluntarily agreed to return.

The migrants were arrested on Saturday night at El Tarajal beach, where hundreds have gathered after tens of thousands of people entered Ceuta irregularly from Morocco on July 30 and 31. Police took the 21 detainees to the border crossing, according to sources cited by EFE.

The incident followed fights among migrants. Some then threw stones at an armed forces patrol nearby, prompting the Civil Guard to intervene. The officers were also pelted with stones, but no injuries were reported. The Spanish Association of Troops and Sailors said the incidents were recurring because the Civil Guard lacked sufficient authority to carry out its work effectively and decisively.

The migration crisis remains unresolved. Although most people who entered in the mass arrival returned voluntarily in the following days, thousands remain in peripheral neighborhoods or on the beach, living in makeshift shelters with limited access to food and water. Estimates vary sharply: the Spanish government puts the number at 5,000, Ceuta authorities at nearly 9,000, and some nongovernmental organizations at 20,000. Police have transferred 1,500 minors to the care of the Ceuta government.

The Spanish government has also authorized the port of Ceuta to install tents for more than 1,000 migrants across 16,000 square meters of public port land. Residents and business owners have opposed the measure and called for the construction work to stop.

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The Civil Guard is not invested with sufficient authority to carry out its work effectively and decisively.