Police quell riot and stabbing at overcrowded migrant camp in Ceuta

Ceuta experienced a night of heightened unrest when the Loma Colmenar informal settlement, packed with hundreds of migrants, became the scene of a near-riot caused by severe overcrowding and the ad-hoc placement of shelter modules. Police forces were dispatched quickly to prevent the crowd from seizing control of the area. A few kilometres away, near the Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes, a fierce dispute escalated into a stabbing, with a woman attacking another in broad daylight; the assailant was detained on the spot.

Authorities also carried out a parallel operation in the same district, uncovering a makeshift “boat-house” where many irregular migrants, including a large number of children, were living. Investigators are pursuing charges against the owners for alleged illegal rent collection from the occupants. The incidents highlight the deteriorating conditions and safety risks in Ceuta’s informal migrant camps.