A new dawn of violence in the areas of Ceuta where part of the migrants who arrived during the mass entry at the end of July are housed or settled has left four people injured in different brawls, two of them seriously. The incidents have once again concentrated in points such as the warehouses of the Tarajal industrial estate and the peripheral neighborhoods of the city.
Police sources have confirmed to El Español that four people were injured during the fights recorded this dawn. Two of them had serious injuries caused by large knives and had to be transferred to the hospital and urgently surgically intervened.
The National Police and the forces deployed in the area had to intervene during particularly complicated hours in settlements that remain under strong pressure since the mass entry recorded in Ceuta on July 30.
Two seriously injured had to be operated on
The two most serious cases correspond to people who suffered stabbings during the brawls.
According to the police sources cited by the newspaper, fights between groups occur frequently and in some confrontations, those involved quickly resort to objects they find within reach. The agents describe a situation in which interventions for disputes are repeating especially during nighttime hours.
So far, no further details have been publicly provided about the identity of the four injured or about possible arrests related to the assaults.
There is also still no official communication from the National Police detailing the specific circumstances of each brawl, so the available information comes from police sources consulted by El Español.
The Tarajal again concentrates part of the incidents
One of the main hotspots continues to be the surroundings of the warehouses of the Tarajal industrial estate, where hundreds of people have remained since the migration crisis at the end of July.
The facilities and their surroundings have forced a continued presence of National Police, Local Police, and military forces in recent weeks, mobilized to reinforce security and respond to the different incidents.
It is not the first time that an attack with a knife has been recorded at this point. On August 19, another brawl among several migrants in the Tarajal warehouses ended with a man injured by a knife and transferred to the University Hospital of Ceuta.
The repetition of altercations has increased the concern of residents and workers in the nearby neighborhoods, who in recent weeks have called for mobilizations to demand more security and the recovery of normalcy in the periphery.
Another vehicle set on fire near Príncipe Felipe
The early morning also left a fire in a vehicle located near the CEIP Príncipe Felipe, according to information published this Saturday.
The sources consulted by El Español indicate that some of the vehicles set on fire during the last nights were abandoned. No information has yet been provided on who caused this last fire or on any arrests related to the incident.
The incident adds to a series of vehicle fires and other property recorded in recent days at various points in Ceuta.
In the early hours from Thursday to Friday, emergency services had to intervene in three practically consecutive fires, including one at a shantytown near Tarajal and several vehicles in other areas of the city.
The great fire of Tarajal destroyed more than 40 shacks
Especially significant was the fire declared on Thursday night next to the Tarajal warehouses.
The flames reached more than eight meters in height and destroyed more than 40 shacks used by migrants. Firefighters used more than 7,000 liters of water to control the fire, aided by the presence of tires and mattresses.
In this case, the National Police initially considers that the origin may have been accidental, although it keeps the lines of investigation open to determine exactly how it started. There were no serious injuries.
At the doors of the warehouses, there are around a hundred improvised constructions, where families and minors also remain, according to information published by El Faro de Ceuta.
Emergency services report increasing pressure
The situation is also having consequences for the health services of the city.
Radio Televisión Ceuta reported this week on a increase in activity in Emergencies related, among other factors, to people injured in brawls, in a context where hospitals and emergency services continue to work under high pressure.
Security workers have also reported violent episodes. CCOO reported this week on the assault suffered by a guard of the CETI during a brawl among several residents. The worker had to receive attention at the University Hospital after the guards intervened in a fight.
More than a month after the massive entry
The incidents occur more than 40 days after the massive entry recorded at the end of July, which led thousands of people to access Ceuta from Morocco and caused an exceptional situation in the city's reception resources.
Since then, temporary spaces have been enabled, security forces have been reinforced, and military personnel have been deployed to collaborate in certain functions. The central Government has also activated extraordinary resources to care for the migrant minors who remain in the city.
However, the accumulation of people in provisional facilities and settlements continues to generate problems of coexistence, security, and humanitarian attention.
The early morning of this Saturday brings those difficulties back to the forefront: four injured in different brawls, two of them serious after receiving stab wounds and a new vehicle set on fire. Security forces maintain their presence in the most tense areas while the different episodes are investigated and Ceuta tries to regain normalcy after a crisis that has lasted since the end of July.