Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta saw another night of disorder spill into Friday morning, after a surge of migrants still living in makeshift beach camps rushed a newly opened “temporary” shelter at the city’s port, according to local reporting cited by Breitbart.
The facility near the port’s west pier is the latest piece in a wider effort by Spain’s socialist central government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to build out migrant reception capacity across Ceuta. Reports cited in the coverage indicate Madrid is aiming for 10,000 beds across all centers, intended for the thousands of migrants who remain in the city following the late-July arrival that officials have characterized as an invasion of the exclave.
A court reversal, then transfers within hours
The shelter’s opening had appeared on track earlier in the week, with local outlets describing it as “imminent.” That prompted Spain’s Unified Police Union (SUP) to file a motion before the National Court seeking to block it. On Wednesday the court agreed to temporarily suspend the opening — then, in a reversal that local observers flagged as unexpected, lifted that suspension just one day later.
Within hours of the ruling being issued, Spanish authorities moved to relocate migrants who had been sheltering in improvised shanty tents at BenĂtez and TrampolĂn beaches into the port facility, following the government’s original timeline.
The operation did not go smoothly. Footage published by the local outlet El Faro de Ceuta and circulated on social media showed a swarm of people pushing toward the shelter entrance as the transfers got underway.
According to El Faro, the disorder continued over the following hours as local law enforcement worked to regain a measure of control. Officers eventually achieved what the outlet described as a tense, thin semblance of organization before the transfers resumed shortly after sunrise.
Tensions flared again soon afterward. In additional footage published by the outlet Friday morning, warning shots fired by police can be heard.
Beach camps remain ‘the same’
Despite an unspecified number of migrants being moved into the port shelter, conditions at BenĂtez and TrampolĂn were reportedly unchanged as of Friday morning — with large numbers of people and ramshackle tents still occupying the beaches. Recent hours have brought reports of rising tensions and altercations at BenĂtez, including physical confrontations, as authorities began admitting the first groups into the new facility.
Opposition to the shelter predates the chaos. The Spanish government took control of the Port of Ceuta earlier this month and began preparing the site near the west pier. Nearby residents and workers have protested against the center, and both locals and law enforcement officials have described it as a significant security risk and a violation of existing critical infrastructure security regulations.
Police group demands resignation of Ceuta’s top cop
By Friday noon, condemnation of the events had begun to surface. The Spanish Police Confederation (CEP) called for the resignation of Ceuta’s top police chief, accusing him of carrying out the transfer process without adequate security measures and holding him responsible for the chaotic scenes earlier in the day.
The episode underscores the pressure the Sánchez government faces in Ceuta, where the practical question of where thousands of migrants will be housed continues to collide with legal challenges, local resistance, and the logistics of moving large populations out of ad hoc beach encampments. For now, the port shelter is operational, the beaches remain occupied, and the political fallout — from the National Court’s back-and-forth to the CEP’s demand — shows no sign of settling.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/09/18/watch-night-of-chaos-in-ceuta-after-invading-migrants-rush-to-new-temporary-shelter/