More than two weeks after tens of thousands of migrants stormed the border of the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, thousands still remain in the city, transforming a once-pristine beach into a sprawling encampment of makeshift huts built from garbage and reeds. Local health authorities are now warning that the unsanitary conditions could trigger disease outbreaks.
The dramatic influx began late last month, when upwards of 80,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta within a single 24-hour period, nearly matching the city’s normal population of around 87,000. While Madrid and Brussels touted the swift expulsion of most migrants, thousands have stayed behind, according to local reports.
Beach Settlement Grows Rapidly
According to the local outlet El Pueblo de Ceuta, estimates put the current number of migrants in the city at between 5,000 and 8,000. That figure includes at least 1,898 unaccompanied minors, many of whom remain in hopes of being granted asylum in Spain, which could open the door to EU visas for their families. El Mundo noted that the Spanish government deported only eight such minors in all of 2024.
The makeshift settlement on Trampolín beach has ballooned in just one week: from around 15 huts last weekend to more than 80 by the end of this week. Constructed from coastal reeds and repurposed trash, the huts reportedly house up to 15 people each.
“This transformation makes the beach the most evident reflection of an emergency that, far from disappearing, continues to leave its mark on the Ceuta coastline,” the paper said.
Health Risks and Daily Care
City health officials have warned that the growing “village” could serve as an incubator for infectious diseases given the unsanitary state of the camp, which has reportedly resulted in “excrement” on the beach. Enrique Roviralta, president of the Ceuta Medical Association, warned this week of potential outbreaks of cholera, tuberculosis, measles, and infectious diarrhoea in the area.
Francisco García Lanzas of the College of Physicians of Ceuta said Thursday that he and colleagues are treating between 300 and 400 patients on the beach every day. He estimated roughly 3,000 mostly sub-Saharan Africans currently live in the camp.
“We must install showers and urinals. These people live on only one meal a day. And if their conditions are not improved, diseases will emerge little by little,” Lanzas said.
Government Response and Rising Tensions
Facing overwhelmed infrastructure, a team from Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration is expected to travel to Ceuta next week to establish temporary accommodations for the thousands still there, according to reports.
There are also fears of a second wave of arrivals. Morocco reported arresting 294 people on Saturday who attempted to cross the border, and another 61 who used social media to incite others to try to reach the Spanish territory.
The influx has also raised security concerns. At least one migrant has been arrested on terrorism-related charges, and several others have been arrested on suspicion of rape, including an attack on a 10-year-old girl, according to El Mundo.
The record-setting surge came after a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that barred authorities from pushing back migrants who arrive illegally by sea. That decision effectively allowed people to walk a few feet into the water on the Moroccan side and then return onto Ceuta’s beach, technically having arrived by water and thus shielding them from expulsion.
The crisis also followed a mass amnesty campaign by Spain’s Socialist government that could regularise up to one million migrants this year, a move critics said would act as a pull factor for further illegal migration.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/08/15/pics-thousands-of-illegal-migrants-set-up-garbage-huts-on-ceuta-beach-sparking-warnings-of-disease-outbreak/