Riots at the CETI centre in Melilla come to an end, but how long for?

THE riot at the CETI Centre for the Temporary Stay of Immigrants, in Melilla, has stopped, but for how long?

New leaders among the illegal immigrants of the centre have threatened that, if there are no movements regarding their demands to be transferred to the Peninsula, the riots will return.

Wednesday, August 26 saw almost 20 police and Guardia Civil officers and security professionals injured during the riots.

Illegal immigrants from the CETI in Melilla threw paving stones and even knives at the police and Guardia Civil officers, to demand the transfer of all the undocumented immigrants from the centre to the Peninsula.

The reason, they claim, is that there are four infected with Covid-19 in CETI that houses more than 1,300 residents.

A total of 26 residents of the CETI in Melilla have been arrested for their involvement in the riot led by dozens of shelters, who for the second day are protesting to demand their transfer to the Peninsula.

Sources from the Government Delegation in Melilla have reported that around 200 people have participated in this protest and it has been necessary to deploy a strong police presence in the area, with 13 patrols from the Guardia Civil, the National Police and the Local Police.

Some of the protesters have even thrown stones and objects at the officers and some residents have even made attempts to escape by jumping over the CETI compound.

The CETI doctor has been evacuated from the centre by the State Security Forces and Bodies due to her state of nervousness.

In its first statement on these incidents, the Government Delegation reported that there were 10 detainees among the CETI residents, a figure that later rose to 26.