Violent clashes flared up between far-right groups, local residents, and North African migrants in a southeastern Spanish town late on Saturday, following an attack on an elderly man by an unidentified assailant on Wednesday, according to local authorities.
Five people were injured and eight arrested during the violence in Torre-Pacheco in the Murcia region, where nearly a third of the population is of foreign origin, according to local government data.
Authorities said two of those arrested were involved in the assault on the man last week, though they were still looking for the main assailant. The other six - five Spaniards and one person of North African origin - were arrested for assault, public disorder, hate crimes or damage to property, the Interior Ministry said.
Police intercepted more than 20 vehicles attempting to enter the town, with some occupants carrying sticks and extendable batons, he said.
Local officials said it was one of the worst episodes in the country in recent decades.
"There are gatherings to resolve the issue (assault) for us." mayor Pedro Angel Roca told national broadcaster TVE.
Videos posted on social media show local residents wearing clothing with far-right symbols and migrants carrying Moroccan flags, throwing objects at each other during Saturday night’s violence.
Mariola Guevara, the central government's representative in the town, told Spanish public TV the attack was being investigated.
She also denounced “hate speech” and “incitement to violence”, stating that additional Guardia Civil officers would be deployed to respond to the situation as far-right groups moved into the town.
Speaking to radio station Cadena Ser, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska attributed the violence to anti-immigration rhetoric from far-right groups and political parties such as Vox, citing organisation and calls on social media.
Less than two weeks ago, Murcia’s administration had to cancel a plan to purchase houses to accommodate unaccompanied migrant minors after the far-right Vox party threatened the ruling conservative People's Party (PP).
Numerous migrants reside in this region, as many work as day labourers in agriculture, one of the main drivers of the local economy.
Abdelali, a North African migrant who lives in Torre Pacheco and declined to give his surname, said he was afraid of riding his scooter for fear of being hit by bottles hurled by the rioters.
"We want peace. That's what we want, we don't want anything else," he told Reuters.
It’s not the first time there have been violent anti-immigration riots. Three Spanish residents were murdered by Moroccan migrants in the southern Spanish town of El Ejido, Almeria, in 2000.
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