Ceuta protests escalate as demonstrators target migrant shelters

Protests in Ceuta have escalated as demonstrators targeted migrant shelters at Playa Benitez, destroying makeshift huts and setting fire to straw umbrellas. The unrest, entering its third consecutive day, began as opposition to the city becoming a migrant shelter hub but has shifted toward direct confrontation with migrants and humanitarian organizations.

Protesters attempted to block four Red Cross trucks carrying food and water to the beach area, though relief teams eventually reached the site via an alternative route. During the clashes, one migrant sustained a head injury and was reported to be in a semi-comatose state. Security forces, including the National Police and Civil Guard, have deployed heavily, with helicopters monitoring the city as protests spread toward the government delegation headquarters.

In a separate development related to the ongoing migration crisis, 12 bodies were buried in the Sidi Mubarak cemetery after authorities were unable to repatriate them to Morocco. Among the deceased were nine individuals who died during recent migration tragedies. One individual, Mohammed Said, was buried locally after Moroccan authorities prevented his remains from crossing the border, despite his family's request to bury him in Mdiq.