Spain asks EU for help to process 5,000 Ceuta migrants amid local unrest

What the report says

Spain has asked the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, to help process about 5,000 migrants still in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, according to Al Jazeera’s report based on Reuters and staff reporting. The request, sent by Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to an EU migration official on Friday, also sought 10 additional Frontex officers to speed up screening.

The migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and remain in the territory while Spanish authorities determine whether they qualify for international protection or should be returned. The report says officials believe between 5,000 and 8,000 migrants, including unaccompanied children, are still there. It also notes that the wider border crossing involved roughly 72,000 people and led to deaths on both sides of the frontier, based on official figures cited by the publication.

The appeal comes as tensions rise locally. Residents have protested over the continued presence of the migrants, and tents at Trampolin Beach have been attacked and burned, the report says. Spanish authorities also detained 12 migrants after an incident involving stones thrown at an army vehicle, which left one soldier and four migrants injured.

The situation highlights pressure on Spain and the EU to manage arrivals, provide shelter and identify those entitled to remain, while also responding to unrest in Ceuta. Al Jazeera also reported that Madrid had already asked the EU for emergency funding to help deal with the situation.