The situation in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta is coming to a head. Locals set fire to makeshift migrant huts on the beach, even though police were present in force. Earlier, on Thursday evening, demonstrators blocked Red Cross trucks that were supposed to deliver food to Trampolín Beach, where hundreds of Moroccans are camping.
The protests, which are gaining momentum, feature slogans such as “The people help the people” and “Out with the intruders.” For Saturday, a “solidarity armada” of 60 boats has been called to Ceuta from mainland Spain. The roughly 9,000 security forces are increasingly caught in the middle, having to protect migrants from angry residents.
German doctor Leon van Bömmel of the aid organization Mission Lifeline told the F.A.Z. from Ceuta that young Spaniards chased injured migrants through the streets. The local human rights organization Elín reports masked men with baseball bats destroying tents. Medical care is not guaranteed: “We see many injuries, infections, broken bones, and chronic conditions that have gone untreated for weeks.”
Early Thursday morning, a military patrol fell into an ambush in the Benzú district. Several dozen men surrounded an unarmored vehicle and pelted it with stones; the four unarmed soldiers had to flee, and one was injured. Police arrested twelve suspected attackers. Territorial Minister Ángel Víctor Torres called for non-violence, while Attorney General Teresa Peramato described the situation as “dramatic.”
Source: www.faz.net
