Ceuta migrant camp removed before Spanish king visit

Authorities in Ceuta began removing a migrant camp from Trampolin beach on Sunday ahead of a planned visit by Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, a police spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said the first phase of transferring the migrants had begun with more than 350 police officers, as well as soldiers and armoured vehicles.

Authorities estimated that around 3,000 would-be migrants had been using the camp, where the Red Cross had been providing daily meals. Those removed were to be taken to a facility for identification and then housed in a temporary camp set up by authorities.

The police spokeswoman said there might not be room for everyone and that the beach operation would be suspended “if there are no more available places” in the official camp.

Spain's royal palace announced Thursday that Felipe and Letizia would visit Ceuta on October 13 on a trip coordinated with the government.

The camp formed after a July 30-31 influx of more than 70,000 people from neighbouring Morocco into the Spanish enclave in North Africa. Most returned to Morocco within days, but thousands remained in Ceuta, sleeping in streets or on the beach. The inflow, during which scores died, caused alarm in the European Union and a political crisis for Madrid.