Spanish police have begun clearing a migrant camp on El Trampolin beach in Ceuta, where around 3,000 people have been living in tents and makeshift shelters for the past two months.
Footage shows a convoy of police vans and armoured vehicles arriving at the beach, as dozens of officers surround the camp. Rescue boats and coastguard vessels can also be seen patrolling offshore.
A brief scuffle was seen breaking out as police detained a migrant. Footage also shows people who appear injured or unconscious being carried towards an ambulance by fellow migrants.
Migrants were taken by bus towards temporary reception facilities, where some were registered for accommodation while others opted to return voluntarily to neighbouring Morocco.
The operation comes just over a week before King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are due to visit Ceuta and Melilla on October 13 and 14. It will be Felipe’s first visit to the North African enclaves since becoming king in 2014.
Pressure has also grown inside Ceuta over thousands of migrants sleeping rough or living in makeshift camps, stretching services in the city of around 83,000 residents.
The camps sprang up after tens of thousands of people crossed from neighbouring Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31.
Initial Spanish Interior Ministry figures put the number entering at around 50,000, with 48,300 reported to have voluntarily returned to Morocco by the evening of July 31.
Source: Viory
