Furious residents in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta have torched a makeshift migrant camp as tensions continue to erupt after more than 70,000 people stormed the border from Morocco.
Spanish flag-waving protesters descended on the beachside encampment on Thursday before tearing it apart and setting it ablaze.
Footage showed demonstrators throwing migrants’ possessions into the sea as the makeshift settlement was destroyed.
Migrants could be seen watching as flames engulfed the camp, while police later formed a line separating the two groups.
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The unrest follows weeks of mounting anger in Ceuta after tens of thousands migrants poured into the North African territory from Morocco last month.
Some residents have described the influx as an “invasion”.
The majority of those who crossed have since returned to Morocco, but thousands are estimated to remain in Ceuta, with many living in makeshift shelters along the coastline.
Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska appealed for calm following the destruction.
Addressing parliament, he said: “Violence is not the answer.
He added: “I call for calm and an end to any form of violence, because violence is not the way to resolve any problem with the complexity” of the situation in Ceuta.
Juan Vivas, the president of Ceuta’s local government, said residents had a right to demonstrate peacefully against the situation but condemned the violence.
He said: “We totally reject the use of any kind of violence.
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“No one can or should take the law into their own hands. The defence of Ceuta and the interests of its people can only be pursued through legality.”
Clashes also erupted on a beach on Thursday where migrants had been sleeping, with demonstrators confronting police officers.
In a separate incident, a soldier was injured after troops were pelted with stones, with 12 Moroccan migrants later arrested.
The disorder followed several days of growing demonstrations over the Spanish government’s handling of the migrant crisis.
Hundreds of residents took to the streets on Tuesday before more than 2,000 people gathered outside the Military Hospital the following day.
The facility had been earmarked under government contingency plans to accommodate migrants remaining in Ceuta.
Security personnel were stationed outside the building as government officials met to discuss their response.
Madrid has since declared the migrant situation a matter of national security and moved to centralise its handling of the crisis.
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