• Eight people arrested after violent clashes in Torre Pacheco, Spain, involving far-right groups and migrants.
• The unrest was sparked by an attack on an elderly man, leading to calls for retribution against the migrant community.
• Authorities have attributed the violence to anti-immigration rhetoric from far-right factions.

Spanish police have arrested eight people after a series of violent clashes between far-right groups and North African migrants in Torre Pacheco, a town in southeastern Spain. The violence erupted over the weekend and has been described as one of the worst incidents of its kind in recent times, with far-right youths hurling objects at riot police, leading to rubber bullets being fired to disperse the crowd, according to Reuters and HuffPost.

The disturbances were triggered by an earlier attack on an elderly man, which authorities believe incited far-right groups to seek retribution against the migrant population. Among those detained, two individuals were connected to the initial assault, while the remaining arrests were linked to charges of assault, public disorder, and hate crimes, as reported by Africanews.

Torre Pacheco, which has a population of around 42,000, has a significant migrant community that constitutes nearly one-third of its residents, many of whom work in the agricultural sector. This economic reliance on migrant labor underscores the complex social dynamics at play in the region, further exacerbated by recent anti-immigration sentiments, as noted by the Interior Ministry and HuffPost.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska expressed concern over the rising violence, attributing it to inflammatory rhetoric from far-right political factions. Mayor Pedro Angel Roca also emphasized the need for community peace, stating, "We don’t want those gatherings to resolve issues," which reflects the local government's desire to mitigate further unrest, according to Africanews.