More than 100 migrants camped on a beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta have launched a hunger strike to demand the right to apply for asylum, two weeks after a mass border crossing that overwhelmed the territory.
The demonstrators, waving Spanish flags at the El Trampolín beach camp, are demanding international protection and better living conditions. Between 5,000 and 8,000 people remain in Ceuta following the July 30 influx, when more than 80,000 people crossed the border from Morocco in under 24 hours. Most have since returned voluntarily to Morocco.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has vowed to return all irregular entrants to their countries of origin. In response to the humanitarian situation, Inclusion Minister Elma Saiz announced temporary shelter units across four Ceuta sites to provide immediate housing for 1,500 migrants.