Ceuta: dismantling of the last migrant camp before the arrival of the King of Spain

Spanish authorities dismantled the last large migrant camp in Ceuta on Sunday, two days before a visit by the King and Queen of Spain, AFP journalists on site noted.

The camp was formed after a massive and unprecedented influx of more than 70,000 people into this Spanish enclave in North Africa, from neighboring Morocco, on July 30 and 31.

Most returned to Morocco within days, but thousands remained in Ceuta, sleeping in the streets or on the beaches.

This sudden wave of arrivals on July 30 and 31, during which dozens of people died, was the cause of a political crisis in Madrid as well as strong diplomatic tensions within the European Union.

On Sunday, police accompanied by soldiers arrived shortly after 8 a.m. on the El Guano esplanade, where hundreds of migrants were camping in makeshift shelters after the dismantling of other camps on neighboring beaches, noted an AFP journalist.

Migrants were put on buses and taken to reception centers, while cleaning teams worked on the esplanade and the beach.

Some migrants fled to nearby hills to avoid getting on buses.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are due to travel to Ceuta on Tuesday, during a trip coordinated with the government.

Morocco claims sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, some 500 km further east, the two Spanish enclaves in North Africa.

The royal visit to Ceuta on Tuesday, which is to be followed on Wednesday by a trip to Melilla, will be the first by a Spanish monarch to the two cities since the trip of King Juan Carlos in November 2007, which caused a diplomatic crisis with Morocco.