Locals torch migrant shelters as Spain's PM points blame beyond the border

Residents in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta tore down and burned makeshift migrant shelters amid escalating tensions over a massive influx from neighboring Morocco, as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accused Russian and Israeli-linked networks of helping spread disinformation that fueled the crisis.

Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags moved toward beachside migrant camps last week, destroying shelters and setting fires as police attempted to keep protesters and migrants apart, according to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE.

Protesters chanted "Invasores, expulsión" — "Invaders, expulsion" — as they advanced toward the beaches where migrants have been staying, EFE reported Aug.

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Hundreds of residents returned to the streets the following day, marching toward the Trampolín and Benítez beach areas where migrants were camped and repeating the same chant, according to EFE.

The unrest follows an unprecedented surge on July 30 and 31, when more than 72,000 migrants irregularly crossed from Morocco into Ceuta , one of the European Union’s two land borders with Africa.

At least 100 people died attempting the crossing, according to Ceuta authorities cited by Reuters on Aug.

31.

Roughly 5,000 migrants remained in the enclave as of Monday.

STATE DEPARTMENT RAISES TRAVEL WARNING FOR PART OF SPAIN AS MIGRANT SURGE SPARKS MILITARY DEPLOYMENT Sánchez on Monday directly linked the mass crossing to what he described as a foreign-backed disinformation campaign.

Spanish authorities have said misleading videos and posts circulating on Instagram, TikTok and other social-media platforms falsely suggested that migrants who reached Ceuta by sea would be permitted to remain in Spain.

CEUTA MIGRANT SURGE EXPOSES SPAIN-MOROCCO TENSIONS AS ISLAMIST GROUPS REPORTEDLY SEEK TO EXPLOIT BORDER CRISIS Sánchez told radio station SER that research by the European Union’s diplomatic service, the European External Action Service, indicated Russian and Israeli networks had participated in spreading the disinformation alongside far-right networks, Reuters reported Aug.

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He argued that Russia and Israel had seized on the crisis to attack Madrid because of disagreements with his government over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza .