Migrants on hunger strike, Palma. | EFE

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A group of illegal immigrants who recently arrived in the Balearic Islands have gone on hunger strike.

They are under guard by two Police patrols at all times at a Hotel in s’Arenal and are demanding that they be allowed to come and go as they please.

Tensions have been building since the Algerian migrants arrived at the Hotel with allegations of theft and hostility towards staff and one migrant reportedly complained that his room didn’t have a sea view.

Pateras

A number of pateras have arrived in the Balearics in recent days; eleven migrants were rescued near Cabrera on Thursday, two others boats were intercepted on Sunday and one on Monday.

All of the migrants have been transferred to Palma for processing and given a medical examination and a PCR test to rule out Covid-19 infection.

The Police Union, Alternativa Sindical de Policía, has urged the Government to block the granting of visas to people from Morocco and Algeria who enter Spain legally. Neither of those countries will accept the return of migrants who reach European shores via pateras.

Union Representatives also pointed out that France has already announced plans to ban visas for illegal immigrants and warned that the Balearic Islands are under increasing pressure.