Ceuta sees surge in sexual assaults and violent robberies as minister downplays insecurity

Data released by local authorities indicate that Ceuta has experienced 27 sexual assaults and 54 robberies involving violence since the recent influx of migrants, challenging Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska's assertion that the public's unease is merely a "subjective" feeling. The prosecutor's office has highlighted a sharp increase in these offenses, estimating roughly one sexual assault per day. On the same night a security guard at the overcrowded CETI (Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes) was struck on the head by a drunken immigrant, and National Police intervened to quell a large brawl between Moroccan and Algerian migrants at the Loma Colmenar camp.

Hours later, a group of illegal migrants set fire to several cars and containers in front of a school in the Príncipe neighbourhood, forcing residents to evacuate. Police, local police, and the fire and rescue service responded to the blaze. The Union Federal de Policía has openly rebuked the minister, accusing him of repeatedly failing to manage the crisis and of downplaying the reality faced by Ceuta's residents.