Hundreds of Ceuta residents protested over several nights this week, tearing down migrant tent camps and confronting police as well as aid workers. The Spanish city still had thousands of people who arrived in late July, and unrest grew after reports that the central government planned to house them in sports centres and other public sites.

On Thursday night locals blocked a road to Benitez beach and halted a Red Cross truck carrying meals. Officers in riot gear later charged the crowd after people entered the camp and burned tents and belongings. A day earlier residents marched with flags and called for remaining migrants to leave.