Police begin operation to move migrants from Ceuta beaches

Fonte da imagem, legenda da EPAImage, policiais lutaram para controlar o caos no acampamento de migrantes na área portuária.

A inteligência espanhola alertou sobre planos de travessia em massa em Ceuta antes da onda. Publicado em 9 de setembro.

Police have begun moving hundreds of migrants in Ceuta to a new tented site in the port area of the Spanish territory in north Africa.

Officers struggled to contain crowds of people jostling to secure a place at the site after weeks of living on the beaches. Shots could be heard, with reports that police fired into the air.

Several hundred migrants have now reached the camp, which has a capacity for 1,700 people.

A maioria dos 72. 000 migrantes que cruzaram a fronteira do Marrocos em julho já retornou. As autoridades de Ceuta estimaram que 13. 000 permanecem no enclave, mas o governo central espanhol afirmou que o número é menor.

The operation began at about 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Friday, with more than 3,000 migrants being transferred, according to the Spanish government-owned news agency Efe.

During the process, some migrants broke through the cordon along the designated 2km (1. 2 mile) route to the port. Video shows young men running in the darkness as police tried to maintain control.

More than 170 police officers have been deployed, including drone technicians, Efe reported. It added that the situation was later "brought under control quickly", and the operation was able to continue.

A operação faz parte da tentativa do governo de concentrar os migrantes em instalações onde eles possam ser identificados e cuidados enquanto seu status administrativo é determinado individualmente.

Fonte da imagem, Legenda da imagem EPA, Mais de 3. 000 migrantes estão sendo transferidos na sexta-feira, segundo a mídia espanhola.

The chaotic scenes will do little to dampen opposition criticism in Spain of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has faced strong criticism over his handling of the crisis.

Since the migrant influx, residents of the 18. 5 sq km (7. 2 sq miles) territory have expressed safety concerns. Some have destroyed shelters and blocked aid being supplied to the migrants.

O prefeito de Ceuta, Juan Jesus Vivas, disse aos legisladores do Parlamento Europeu no início deste mês que os migrantes haviam transformado Ceuta em uma 'panela de pressão.

The city is completely different than it was before this event, Ceutans have lost their joy and their lifestyles have been completely shaken up," the conservative mayor said.

The opposition also accused Sánchez of knowing about the influx of migrants in advance. Sánchez has insisted that it was impossible to predict, but according to government documents, its intelligence services had warned of social media calls for a mass migrant crossing into Ceuta the day before the events happened.

Ester Muñoz of the conservative People's Party said the government was "directly responsible for the invasion of Ceuta and for those who died.

Sanchez culpou as gangues de tráfico e também afirmou que a crise foi provocada por boatos e rumores espalhados pelas redes sociais.

Ceuta was "a humanitarian crisis and also an administrative challenge within the city itself", the prime minister said.

Fonte da imagem, Legenda da imagem EPA, Pedro Sánchez nega ter conhecimento prévio da onda migratória.

The incident has also created diplomatic headaches for Sánchez.

O primeiro‑ministro está em desacordo com a Itália, já que os dois países, no início desta semana, estenderam controles de fronteira temporários impostos um ao outro.

Ele também tenta manter sua relação bilateral com o Marrocos.

The influx of migrants in late July came after Spain's Supreme Court ruled that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta cannot be summarily returned to Morocco.

After the ruling, some social media accounts spread misinformation and offered to help migrants cross the Spanish border for hundreds of pounds.

Milhares de pessoas então inundaram a cerca de fronteira e nadaram ao redor das barreiras oceânicas. Pelo menos 100 pessoas morreram durante a travessia, segundo autoridades locais.

Related topics More on this story Embattled Spanish PM insists no prior warnings before Ceuta crisis.

Protests in Spain against government's handling of Ceuta migrant crisis.

Assaltos sexuais ocorrendo quase todos os dias em Ceuta, dizem os promotores.

Em números

• During the process, some migrants broke through the cordon along the designated 2km (1
• Pelo menos 100 pessoas morreram durante a travessia, segundo autoridades