Spanish police have cleared the migrant settlement at Trampolín beach in Ceuta, police sources told the EFE news agency. Those remaining were transferred to a temporary reception centre near the Tarajal border for identification. Police are maintaining an operation to prevent people from returning.

The clearance follows a mass entry of people from Morocco on July 30. More than 3,000 people had stayed at the beach settlement, according to police sources. More than 350 officers were deployed for the initial clearance.

Thousands crossed the border as bodies were recovered

Spanish news outlet Información reported that thousands of people crossed irregularly into Ceuta through the border breakwater. Thousands more had arrived by swimming in the preceding days. The dates of those crossings and the body recoveries remain unclear.

The outlet also reported that the Civil Guard in Ceuta had recovered eight more bodies. That brought the number found during the day covered by that update to 19, following the mass entry. The identities of those who died and their causes of death remain unknown.

Información reported that Spain’s central government was working to hand all those who had arrived over to Morocco. Separately, Spanish news outlet El Día reported that the government was considering immigration-law changes to facilitate repatriations at the border.

Police guard cleared sites and move people for identification

Police sources told EFE that the second and final phase of the beach clearance lasted three hours. Everyone still at the settlement was moved to the Temporary Reception Centre for Foreigners, known as CATE, near Tarajal. An earlier stage had moved about 1,100 people there for identification.

Officers are guarding Ceuta’s northern bay, including Trampolín beach and an area near the desalination plant. Both sites have been cleared. Police sources said the operation aims to prevent people who went into the hills from returning to establish another camp.

More than 300 migrants expressed a wish to return to Morocco, police sources said. The reports also described dozens choosing voluntary return after being removed from the beach settlement. The number who have actually returned is not established.

Military groups raise concerns over deployment

Three military associations — ASFASPRO, AUME and UMT — said Spain’s Ombudsman had accepted their complaint for processing. Filed on September 22, it concerned physical safety, legal protections and resources for personnel deployed in Ceuta.

The SUP police union thanked military personnel for providing accommodation and beds to officers sent to the city. It said members of the armed forces stationed in Ceuta had given up their own quarters.

The political party Vox proposed a joint command to manage the borders of Ceuta and Melilla. It would include the armed forces, the CNI national intelligence service, state security forces and other services. Vox registered the proposal as a non-legislative motion for debate in Congress’s Defence Committee.