Violent clashes erupt between far-right groups and migrants in Spanish town
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Clashes between far-right and migrants rock Spanish city: five injured reported
Violent clashes broke out between far-right groups, local residents, and migrants from North Africa in Torre-Pacheco, southeastern Spain. Five people were reported injured and one arrested, with authorities preparing for new arrests.
Details
As stated, late on Saturday, July 12, violent clashes broke out in the southeastern Spanish town between far-right groups, local residents, and migrants from North Africa after an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier in the week.
Five people were injured and one was arrested during the unrest in Torre-Pacheco, local officials told Reuters.
This is one of the worst such episodes in the country in recent decades. On Sunday, July 13, the town was quieter, but government sources said that “more arrests are expected.”
Journalist Tommy Robinson published footage of the clashes.
Recall
In Belgrade, anti-government protests continue, with participants calling for a complete blockade of Serbia due to police brutality and demanding early elections.
Macron says record illegal Channel crossings point to Brexit failure
French President Emmanuel Macron says British people were ‘sold a lie’ over Brexit. Record illegal migrant crossings across the English Channel this year. Britain’s lack of formal agreements with the EU on migration is encouraging people to make those crossings over the Channel. Official UK data published earlier this month showed nearly 20,000 asylum seekers had arrived in Britain on small boats so far in 2025.
Summary Macron says British people were ‘sold a lie’ over Brexit
Macron says Brexit has hindered attempts to tackle immigration
PARIS, July 10 (Reuters) – Record illegal migrant crossings across the English Channel this year showed Brexit had failed to deliver on a British promise of tighter border controls, said French President Emmanuel Macron, adding that British people had been ‘sold a lie.’
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Thursday a pilot programme to return migrants arriving in small boats.
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Macron added that Britain’s departure from the European Union meant the lack of formal agreements with the EU on migration was actually encouraging people to make those crossings over the Channel.
“The current situation is actually giving an incentive to make the crossing. And this is therefore the exact opposite of what Brexit had proposed and promised,” said Macron on Thursday.
“The thing is, the British people were sold a lie, which was that they were told the problem was Europe but by creating this legal void, the problem has become Brexit.”
Official UK data published earlier this month showed nearly 20,000 asylum seekers had arrived in Britain on small boats so far in 2025, marking a record high for the first six months of the year.
Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Richard Lough, Peter Graff and Richard Chang
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Several injured as anti-migrant violence erupts in Spanish town
Violent clashes have erupted in a town in southeastern Spain. Five people were hurt and one was arrested during unrest in Torre-Pacheco. It followed an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier this week. It was described as one of the worst such episodes in the country in recent decades. The town was quieter on Sunday, but government sources said more arrests were expected. The reasons behind the assault are unclear, and no one has been arrested.
Violent clashes have erupted in a town in southeastern Spain following an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier this week.
Five people were hurt and one was arrested during the unrest in Torre-Pacheco between far-right groups, local residents and North African migrants on Saturday, local officials said.
It was described as one of the worst such episodes in the country in recent decades.
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The town was quieter on Sunday, but government sources said more arrests were expected.
Videos posted on social media showed men dressed in clothes bearing far-right symbols and migrants carrying Moroccan flags hurling objects at each other in Saturday night’s violence, which followed several days of lower-intensity unrest.
Tensions flared up between local residents and migrants after the elderly man was attacked in the street on Wednesday, causing injuries from which he is recovering at home.
The reasons behind the assault are unclear, and no one has been arrested.
The central government’s representative in the area, Mariola Guevara, told Spanish public TV the attack was being investigated.
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She also denounced “hate speech” and “incitement to violence”, and said additional Guardia Civil officers would be deployed to deal with the violence.
Nearly a third of Torre-Pacheco’s population is of foreign origin, according to local government data.
The area surrounding the town, which is located in the Murcia region, also hosts large numbers of migrants who work as day labourers in agriculture, one of the pillars of the regional economy.
Less than two weeks ago, Murcia’s government had to backtrack on a proposal to buy housing to accommodate unaccompanied migrant minors as the ruling conservative People’s Party (PP) was threatened by far-right Vox, whose support the PP needs to pass laws.
In 2000, violent anti-immigration protests broke out in the Almeria town of El Ejido in southern Spain after three Spanish citizens were killed by Moroccan migrants.
Spain: 5 hurt in anti-migrant violence blamed on far right – DW – 07/13/2025
Clashes broke out in a sleepy southeastern Spanish town near Murcia for a second night. The violence erupted just days after a pensioner said he was attacked by a group of youths from North Africa. Videos posted on social media showed men dressed in clothes bearing far-right symbols and migrants carrying Moroccan flags hurling objects at each other in the center of the 40,000 population town. Spain’s government has deployed additional officers to Torre Pacheco to avoid further violence. The clashes followed several days of lower-intensity unrest in the town following the beating of a 68-year-old pensioner on Wednesday. The reasons behind the assault are unclear and no one has been arrested in connection with it.
An outbreak of violence between migrants and residents in a southeastern Spanish town was fueled by social media posts from far-right groups, an official fromSpain’s government said Sunday.
Five people suffered minor injuries during Saturday night’s disturbance and one person was arrested.
Mariola Guevara, a central government delegate in the Murcia region, said officials responded after detecting posts that had incited a planned “hunt for migrants,” which had begun earlier than planned.
What do we know?
Groups armed with batons roamed the streets of the sleepy town of Torre Pacheco, near Murcia, late Saturday for a second night, days after an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants.
Despite a major police presence, regional newspaper La Opinion de Murcia reported that groups were looking for foreign-origin people.
Videos posted on social media showed men dressed in clothes bearing far-right symbols and migrants carrying Moroccan flags hurling objects at each other in the center of the 40,000 population town.
The footage also showed rubbish containers and barricades in flames.
Police officers managed to prevent a confrontation between the two groups, Mayor Pedro Ángel Roca said.
Roca said most of the people taking part in the riots had come from other areas.
Spain’s government has deployed additional officers to Torre Pacheco to avoid further violence Image: MartAn C./Europa Press/IMAGO
Pensioner recovering after beating by youths
The clashes followed several days of lower-intensity unrest in the town following the beating of a pensioner on Wednesday.
The 68-year-old man is recovering at home from his injuries and told local media he was attacked by three youths from North Africa. The attack was filmed and put on social media.
The reasons behind the assault are unclear and no one has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Francisco Pulido, head of the Guardia Civil in the Murcia region, said he had deployed units to disperse the crowd and prevent further violence.
Pulido said authorities were also focused on investigating possible hate crimes.
Threats made toward migrants
Threats directed at Moroccan families living in Torre-Pacheco have been circulating on social media for days, according to the daily El Pais.
Spanish authorities launched an appeal for calm on Sunday, with Fernando Lopez Miras, the head of the Murcia government, writing on X that “Torre Pacheco must get back to normal.”
“I understand the frustration, but nothing justifies violence,” the conservative politician added.
Migrants make up about 30% of the population in the town, about twice the average in Spain, according to El Mundo newspaper.
The area around the town also hosts large numbers of migrants who work as farm laborers.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
Kremlin says the Ukraine peace process has not stalled
Kremlin says it does not think peace talks on Ukraine have stalled despite Donald Trump’s remarks. Trump said on Tuesday that he was not happy with Putin and accused the Kremlin chief of throwing “a lot of bullshit” The United States is delivering artillery shells and mobile rocket artillery missiles to Ukraine, two U.S. officials told Reuters. Russia, Peskov said, was waiting for a signal from Kyiv on whether or not it would join a third round of talks, which first kicked off in May in Istanbul.
MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia did not think peace talks on Ukraine have stalled despite Donald Trump’s remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Washington’s resumption of some weapons to Ukraine.
Trump said on Tuesday that he was not happy with Putin and accused the Kremlin chief of throwing “a lot of bullshit”. The United States is delivering artillery shells and mobile rocket artillery missiles to Ukraine, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
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Asked by Reuters if the peace process on Ukraine was stalled due to Trump’s remarks and the resumption of U.S. weapons deliveries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “No, I don’t think so. You cannot say that.”
Russia, Peskov said, was waiting for a signal from Kyiv on whether or not it would join a third round of talks, which first kicked off in May in Istanbul.
“We have repeatedly said that it would be preferable for us to achieve our goals through peaceful political and diplomatic means, but as long as this does not happen, a special military operation continues, and the reality on the ground is changing every day,” Peskov said.
Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022.
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly called for an end to the “bloodbath” of Ukraine, which his administration has cast as a proxy war between the United States and Russia.
Putin, whose forces control a fifth of Ukraine and are advancing, has stood firm on his conditions for ending the war, despite public and private pressure from Trump and repeated warnings from European powers.
In June 2024, Putin said Ukraine must officially drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entire territory of the four Ukrainian regions Russia claims.
Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; editing by Guy Faulconbridge
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