Police begin operation to move migrants from Ceuta beaches

Police have begun moving hundreds of migrants in Ceuta to a new tented site in the port area of the Spanish territory in north Africa.

Officers struggled to contain crowds of people jostling to secure a place at the site after weeks of living on the beaches. Shots could be heard, with reports that police fired into the air.

Several hundred migrants have now reached the camp, which has a capacity for 1,700 people.

Most of the 72,000 migrants who breached the border from Morocco in July have returned, but it is believed that more than 13,000 remain in the enclave.

The operation began at about 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Friday, with more than 3,000 migrants being transferred, according to the Spanish government-owned news agency Efe.

During the process, some migrants broke through the cordon along the designated 2km (1.2 mile) route to the port. Video shows young men running in the darkness as police tried to maintain control.

More than 170 police officers have been deployed, including drone technicians, Efe reported. It added that the situation was later “brought under control quickly”, and the operation was able to continue.

The operation is part of the government’s attempt to concentrate the migrants in facilities where they can be identified and cared for while their administrative status is individually determined.