Two people were arrested and seven police were injured following rioting, allegedly involving Moroccan migrants, in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta during a visit by populist VOX party leader Santiago Abascal.
Violence broke out in the city, which is located on the North African coast and borders Morocco, during a visit to the autonomous city by VOX leader Santiago Abascal, who was visiting the city after the wave of an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 illegal immigrants into the city last week.
The violence is said to have taken place in and around the area of the hotel in which Mr Abascal was staying near the Africa square and local police say that seven of their officers were injured by the rioters who were throwing objects such as rocks, La Vanguardia reports.
The Spanish National Police say they are trying to determine the identities of the violent rioters and are viewing CCTV footage in the area. Several of the violent protestors also allegedly attempted to force their way into the hotel where the VOX leader was staying.
Other rioters also vandalised property around the area of the hotel, including an image of Christ near the hotel property.
According to the newspaper El Mundo, several of the people involved in the riots were Moroccans who had entered Ceuta illegally last week and cries of “Allahu Akbar” were heard among the crowd, police sources told the newspaper.
“They allowed several hundred, many Moroccans, to gather against us for three hours, including those who illegally passed to Ceuta last week,” Santiago Abascal said.
Abascal and several others remember of VOX were hoping to hold a political rally in Ceuta but the event was cancelled by the government due to safety concerns.
The violence comes a week after Abascal had visited Ceuta without any incidents at all from locals, some of which cheered him and VOX. in the last national elections in November of 2019 VOX was the most popular party in the Spanish enclave, winning 35.3 per cent of the vote.
Abascal has denounced the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta, calling for the armed forces to be deployed last week, and VOX has maintained a firm anti-mass migration stance.
Last month, during the Madrid elections, Abascal and other members of VOX, as well as their supporters, were also attacked by a mob in the Madrid area of Vallecas. A total of 35 people were injured during the riots, 21 of them police officers.