Spanish authorities dismantled the last remaining migrant encampment in Ceuta on Sunday morning, two days before a planned visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to the Spanish enclave bordering Morocco.
Spain’s National Police said in a social media statement that more than 350 officers were deployed alongside the Civil Guard, local police and the army, with armoured vehicles and police vans supporting the operation.
Officers cleared the Guano settlement on El Trampolin beach, close to the Moroccan border. The makeshift camp was estimated to house around 500 migrants who had not been identified by Spanish authorities following an influx in late July.
Thousands of people crossed from Morocco into Spanish territory by sea and land during that period, with at least 100 people reported to have died attempting the journey.
According to Spanish newspaper El País, adults from the camp were taken to a temporary detention facility in warehouses at Tarajal, near the border, for identification ahead of their expected transfer to other facilities.
Children were also among those sleeping in makeshift tents and on mattresses on the beach. Some held signs reading: "I am a minor".
Spanish authorities said the children would be taken to the National Police headquarters before being moved to available reception centres.
Spain’s ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, urged the country’s autonomous communities to show "solidarity" by taking in migrant children who had been in Ceuta since July. He said he hoped the crisis "will not leave a wound" in a city experiencing "much pain and suffering".
The National Police said Sunday’s operation was necessary to maintain public order and security. It was the fifth major police operation to clear public spaces since 29 September.
Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez, Spain’s minister for territorial policy and democratic memory, said 12,000 people had returned to Morocco between 10 August and Sunday.
He described the returns as "voluntary", saying many had realised their cases would end in expulsion because they did not meet the requirements for asylum.
According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, nearly 25,000 migrants have arrived irregularly in the country so far this year. On Saturday night, a Maritime Rescue vessel rescued 96 people, including nine women and two children, from a small boat off Lanzarote.
The leader of the opposition People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, pledged to make Ceuta a priority if he became prime minister following the snap election scheduled for 29 November. Incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the election on Monday.
Felipe and Letizia are expected to begin their visit to Ceuta on Tuesday and attend a ceremony commemorating migrants who died.
The visit comes amid tensions between Madrid and Rabat. Speaking at the opening of Morocco’s parliamentary session earlier this week, King Mohammed VI said cooperation with Spain would not be subject to "pressure, threat, or blackmail".
He added that Rabat would not allow certain politicians to "instrumentalise" the situation.