Spain prepares new migrant shelter in Ceuta after mass arrivals

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - MADRID — Spanish authorities are preparing a new temporary accommodation site in Ceuta for hundreds of migrants who remain on the streets following a record influx from Morocco in July, local media reported Saturday.

Workers began setting up two tents in an open area in the Los Rosales neighborhood, next to the Nuestra Señora de África nursery school, according to EFE news agency.

National Police officers were deployed to the area to prevent possible incidents.

Work began Friday amid protests by nursery employees and parents concerned about the site's proximity to the school, which is expected to open Sept. 28 with capacity for about 176 children aged up to 3.

Authorities have already prepared other sites in Loma Colmenar, La Hípica and the Tarajal industrial area to accommodate migrants who have been sleeping on streets or in mountainous areas because of a shortage of shelter space.

Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres said Wednesday that the facilities were necessary to allow authorities to identify migrants before most are returned to Morocco.

The CCOO trade union called for an alternative that would provide assistance to migrants while addressing families' concerns and pressure on public services.

The CSIF union, meanwhile, demanded a risk assessment and security guarantees before the nursery opens.

Around 72,000 people crossed irregularly from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31, according to the Spanish government's official estimate.

The unprecedented influx briefly brought into the enclave a number of migrants almost equivalent to its population.

Government estimates indicate that around 5,000 of those who arrived during the mass crossings remain in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa with a population of about 80,000.