The Policía Nacional began a coordinated operation on 18 October 2026 in Ceuta to clear the remaining makeshift camps in Los Rosales, Poblado Regulares and around Polígono del Tarajal . According to the Delegación del Gobierno the operation began in the early hours. The authorities say they are taking those affected to the Centro de Atención Temporal para Extranjeros or providing them with information about alternatives, including voluntary return to Morocco . No official figures on the scale of the operation were initially available.
The Ministry of the Interior justifies the move on the grounds of restoring public-space safety and health standards and the need to move everyone affected into formal procedures. In the preceding weeks, state authorities had set up additional registration and initial reception facilities at the Tarajal border. The Centro de Atención Temporal para Extranjeros is used to establish identity, provide information about legal options and transfer people to suitable facilities.
The operation follows arrivals that have continued since the summer, leading to temporary gatherings in outlying areas of Ceuta. In August, the Spanish government declared a situation of particular interest to national security in order to pool resources and speed up administrative procedures. The corresponding decision was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado . Today’s clearances continue a plan already under way, which has led to an increase in transfers to reception centres in recent weeks.
Aid organisations and legal advisers point to humanitarian risks and call for secure access to medical care, legal advice and transparent assessments of possible protection and asylum claims. Media reports described isolated tensions around the operations. On the information currently available, specific allegations of unlawful pushbacks cannot be substantiated; such claims require official confirmation.
The state authorities stress that the operation is intended to maintain public order and protect health in Ceuta. They also say that those remaining should be moved into legally regulated procedures as quickly as possible. They said they would provide further details in later statements, including the number of transfers to the Centro de Atención Temporal para Extranjeros and how long the operation in Los Rosales, Poblado Regulares and at Polígono del Tarajal lasted.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).