Overview
- Police officers used warning shots, baton charges and road closures to break up a simultaneous push by migrants trying to force entry into the Loma Colmenar reception area, and began clearing people from the exterior.
- Operational sources report roughly 400 people were admitted into the facility before the site reached its planned capacity and the remaining crowd surged at the entrance.
- The concentration grew after hundreds were moved from Playa del Trampolín to an explanade the government opened and the army set up large tents that provide food, water, hygiene and bunk beds.
- Long queues, false rumors that entry would secure fast residency papers and overcrowding led to fights among migrants and police accounts of thefts and sexual assaults in the encampment overnight.
- Ceuta officials have bolstered police at Loma Colmenar to prevent repeat incidents and face the wider challenge of limited reception capacity, local safety concerns and ongoing migrant arrivals.