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BBC News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Thirteen people arrested following anti-migrant riots in southern Spain
A total of 13 people have been arrested and extra police have been deployed after an attack on a pensioner sparked anti-migrant unrest in a small town in southern people of North African origin have been detained on suspicion of attacking the 68-year-old man in Torre Pacheco last unrest began after a video circulated on social media, inflaming the town of 40,000 people which is home to a large immigrant population. The pensioner and police later said the video was unrelated to the incident but social media calls to find and attack the perpetrators multiplied quickly. By Friday groups armed with batons could be seen roaming the streets of Torre Pacheco. One far-right group called "Deport Them Now" called for attacks on people of North African origin. Further messages on social media have called for renewed attacks on immigrants over three days this 68-year-old victim, named locally as Domingo Tomás Domínguez, told Spanish media he was thrown to the ground and hit while taking his morning walk.A photo circulating on social media showed his face bearing extensive bruising. Police said the motive for the attack was unclear. Mr Domínguez said he was not asked to hand over money or his belongings and did not understand the language his attackers were presence has been beefed up, with more than 130 officers from both the local police in the province of Murcia and Guardia three people arrested on suspicion of attacking the pensioner are all of Moroccan origin and in their early 20s, according to Spanish media, and none are residents of Torre of the suspects was arrested on Monday as he prepared to take a train from the Basque region to cross the border to France. The worst of the unrest occurred at the weekend, when groups of youths - some hooded - attacked vehicles and businesses. Clashes were also reported between far-right groups and people of North African Sunday night journalists witnessed several dozen youths hurling glass bottles and other objects at riot police. In a CCTV video shared by several Spanish outlets, a group of men, some armed with bats and sticks, could be seen vandalising a kebab shop on the same Pacheco mayor Pedro Ángel Roca called on the "migrant community not to leave their homes and not to confront rioters".Many of the town's residents of migrant origin work in the area's booming agricultural sector, and some have complained of no longer feeling safe in the town. The mayor said they had been living in Torre Pachecho for more than 20 of an extreme-right Telegram group reportedly called on people to flock in from other parts of Spain and take part in "hunts" of North Africans over three days this week. Their channel has since been shut Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska attributed the violence to anti-immigration rhetoric from far-right groups and parties such as Vox - Spain's third largest political force. Vox leader Santiago Abascal denied responsibility for the riots and blamed "mass immigration" policies for allowing the alleged perpetrators of last week's attack to enter the country. Talking about migration, Abascal said: "It has stolen our borders, it has stolen our peace, and it has stolen our prosperity."Murcia prosecutors have opened an investigstion for hate crimes into the regional president of Vox, José Ángel Antelo, who last week said the violence was the "fault" of Spain's two main parties - the Popular Party (PP) and Socialist Party (PSOE). Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X: "What we are seeing in Torre-Pacheco challenges us all. We must speak out, act firmly, and defend the values that unite us. Spain is a country of rights, not hate."
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
Spain arrests nine after anti-migrant unrest in Torre Pacheco
Police in Spain have arrested nine people over rare anti-migrant unrest that rocked the town of Torre Pacheco, authorities said on Monday. Three nights of violence erupted on Friday after a 68-year-old man told local media three youths of North African origin had beaten him up in the street of the southeastern town. Torre Pacheco mayor Pedro Angel Roca told Cadena SER radio that social media had inflamed clashes involving non-residents that saw street equipment broken and car windows smashed. The central government's representative in the Murcia region, Mariola Guevara Cava, said authorities had identified 80 people, "many of them with criminal records for violence. The majority of them are not from Torre Pacheco". Two people had been arrested for their suspected role in the attack on the elderly man, while six Spaniards and a Moroccan were held for "altercations, crimes of hate, damage, and public disorder", she told reporters. The Civil Guard has deployed 90 officers to quell the unrest and more would be sent, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Cadena SER. A far-right group named "Deport Them Now" had posted a message online calling for attacks against people of North African origin. The Moroccan Association for the Integration of Immigrants said in a statement that "threats, attacks and fear in the streets must end", demanding "real protection for the affected people". The mayor told public broadcaster TVE that 30 percent of Torre Pacheco's inhabitants were immigrants, mainly agricultural labourers, "who have been living in the town for more than 20 years". Moroccans are the most common nationality among Spain 's foreign population, numbering more than 920,000 according to latest official figures.
