More than 3,000 migrants, including several hundred minors, remain on the streets of Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta as authorities work to move them into accommodation facilities, a government minister said on Monday.
Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres told Spanish public broadcaster TVE that transfers would continue over the coming days under measures approved by the government, with an additional facility set to open if more capacity is required.
Torres said authorities hoped all migrants currently sleeping outdoors could be relocated within several weeks, after which officials would begin processing return procedures for those not eligible to remain in Spain.
Between 150 and 200 migrants are voluntarily returning to Morocco each day, he said, including around 160 people over the previous 24 hours.
According to Torres, those expected to remain in Spain include people who qualify for international protection and minors who cannot be reunited with their families. He said most of the recent arrivals from Morocco were not expected to meet the requirements for protection.
The government is also planning to transfer unaccompanied minors from Ceuta to mainland Spain in an effort to ease pressure on reception facilities in the enclave.
Torres separately condemned an attack on a member of the Ceuta Assembly on Sunday in which stones were thrown at the lawmaker’s vehicle, describing the incident as unacceptable.
