Police in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta began moving hundreds of migrants on Friday morning to a new reception centre at the port after many had spent six weeks sleeping on the beach.
More than 3,000 adult and underage migrants have remained on Ceuta’s beaches since the mass arrival in the city on 30 July.
The transfer did not go smoothly. Too many people gathered at the assembly point, prompting police to intervene and fire several warning shots.
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The new reception centre has space for 1,700 people to sleep. Temporary facilities had already been set up in Ceuta after thousands of migrants arrived, but they were not enough to accommodate everyone.
At the end of July, more than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta, many of them by swimming from Morocco. Although the vast majority left again soon afterwards, thousands are still in the enclave.
Among those still in Ceuta are many unaccompanied minors, who cannot simply be sent back.
