By David Latona and Maria Alejandra Cardona
MADRID, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Hundreds of migrants who recently entered Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta staged a protest on a popular urban beach on Sunday, urging Spanish authorities to grant them asylum instead of sending them back to Morocco.
They were among the estimated 5,000 to 8,000 who remain in Ceuta after the mass border crossing two weeks ago that saw over 72,000 people surge into the tiny territory of about 80,000. The vast majority returned voluntarily in the following days.
With the city's resources overstretched, most migrants were living in precarious conditions on El Trampolin beach or the city's outskirts while awaiting a chance to journey on to continental Europe.
"We're sleeping next to the sea, with cold and bad smells. We're suffering a lot," said Ayoub Elarroud from Morocco's Tetouan, adding that police were blocking migrants from going to the city centre.
#madrid
MADRID, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Hundreds of migrants who recently entered Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta staged a protest on a popular urban beach on Sunday, urging Spanish authorities to grant them asylum instead of sending them back to Morocco.
They were among the estimated 5,000 to 8,000 who remain in Ceuta after the mass border crossing two weeks ago that saw over 72,000 people surge into the tiny territory of about 80,000. The vast majority returned voluntarily in the following days.
With the city's resources overstretched, most migrants were living in precarious conditions on El Trampolin beach or the city's outskirts while awaiting a chance to journey on to continental Europe.
"We're sleeping next to the sea, with cold and bad smells. We're suffering a lot," said Ayoub Elarroud from Morocco's Tetouan, adding that police were blocking migrants from going to the city centre.
#madrid
18 days ago
