MADRID, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Spanish riot police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck people with batons on Friday as they began an operation to clear thousands of migrants off beaches in the North African enclave of Ceuta and move some of them into temporary housing.
Spain estimates 10,000 migrants remain in the tiny territory. More than 72,000 crossed into the enclave from Morocco at the end of July in an unprecedented border rush, although most later left.
The authorities have built new temporary housing inside the enclave’s port to hold 1,700 people. NGOs say thousands remain unhoused and have been sleeping rough in camps.
Friday’s operation to clear the beaches began shortly before 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and involved both riot police and the Spanish military.
Migrants who had spent the night waiting on the beach in hope of a place in temporary shelter initially applauded as the march got under way, but tussles later broke out as they competed for the limited number of places available.
Footage from state broadcaster TVE showed crowding and jostling as people struggled to enter the designated route. Police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck several migrants with batons before the situation calmed down and the operation resumed.
Later footage showed mostly adult men carrying belongings, walking in small groups under police escort along a route of just over 1 km (0.6 miles) from the El Trampolin beach to the port.
The vast majority of the migrants are men and boys. The temporary housing is built only for adult men, so minors are being separated and housed separately.
Three NGO leaders told Reuters that authorities had been too slow to provide migrants with minimum shelter required under the European migration pact, and that reception centres opened so far could not accommodate those still sleeping on the streets.
One NGO estimated that about 4,000 migrants remained outdoors on Ceuta’s beaches and pavements, meaning the new centre would not be sufficient to clear makeshift camps in public areas. Two NGO leaders said officials probably expect most migrants to return voluntarily to Morocco.
(Reporting by David Latona and Corina Pons; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Peter Graff)
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