Twenty-one migrants who attacked military patrol with stones in Ceuta returned to Morocco

Twenty-one Moroccan migrants involved in a stone-throwing attack on a military patrol in Ceuta agreed to return voluntarily to Morocco, Spain’s Civil Guard said.

The incident took place on Saturday night at Trampolín beach, one of the areas where many migrants who remain in the Spanish enclave are living on the streets. The patrol alerted authorities that it was being attacked with stones, after which the Civil Guard identified those involved. The incident ended without injuries or material damage.

About 70,000 people entered Ceuta from Morocco in a mass arrival at the end of July. Most returned soon afterward, but thousands remain in the enclave. Estimates differ sharply: Spain’s central government puts the number at about 5,000, while local authorities estimate 10,000.

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These are cabins that will be dismantled, and therefore they are not for migrants to stay in Ceuta.

The enclave, which covers just 18.5 square kilometers and has about 80,000 residents, has seen repeated tensions since the mass arrival. Other stone attacks against military patrols have led to arrests and expulsions. Police have also clashed with Ceuta residents demanding that migrants leave, and protesters once burned foreigners’ belongings on a beach.

The central government, under pressure from right-wing and far-right opposition parties over its handling of the arrivals, is seeking faster returns to Morocco. Spanish law requires officials to identify each person individually to determine whether they can request asylum or be returned. Thousands of minors who crossed the border receive additional special protection.

On Saturday, the national government took control of Ceuta’s port after the autonomous city’s authorities, led by the opposition People’s Party, rejected temporary structures for housing migrants there. Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres said the shelters would be dismantled and were not intended to allow migrants to remain in Ceuta. “That is being done so they can be returned, because the sooner we register them, the sooner they can be returned,” he said.

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That is being done so they can be returned, because the sooner we register them, the sooner they can be returned.