Just hours after opening on 18 September, the temporary reception centre erected on Ceuta’s Muelle de Poniente reached its 1,700-person capacity, forcing an estimated 3,000 people to return to improvised beach encampments. Government sources quoted by EFE confirmed the relocation operation had concluded “without serious incidents”, but acknowledged that demand still far outstrips supply. The pre-dawn transfer involved 170 National Police officers and 70 Guardia Civil riot units escorting migrants from the Benítez and Trampolín beaches to the port. Crowd surges prompted warning shots in the air, according to eyewitnesses, but order was quickly restored. Authorities say the city now offers more than 6,000 temporary places across five sites, yet upwards of 9,000 people remain in Ceuta following July’s mass crossing. NGOs report that those left outside the camp are again rigging tarpaulins for shelter and have limited access to sanitation. The situation is fuelling calls from business groups for faster transfers to mainland Spain, warning that prolonged humanitarian pressures risk tarnishing the city’s logistics hub image and discouraging cruise traffic scheduled for October. The Interior Ministry insists further plots, including military land, are being evaluated. For employers with staff based in Ceuta, the advice is to anticipate traffic restrictions near the port and beaches as security deployments continue around the clock.
Source: Agencia EFE
