Article authors:
Reuters
Emma Pinedo and Ahmed Eljechtimi
Madrid — Approximately 2,000 migrants attacked a high fence blocking the outlying land of Melilla in North Africa on Friday. Spanish officials said after a fierce two-hour skirmish with the border guard.
Melilla and Ceuta, also the second Spanish outposts on the north coast of Africa, have become attractive to most sub-Saharan migrants seeking to enter Europe over the past decade. I did.
Friday's attempt stated that 57 immigrants and 49 Spanish police were injured in an attempt on Friday, but faced resistance from Moroccan security forces at 6 am local time. It started around 40 minutes.
At around 8:40 am, more than 500 migrants began to enter Melilla, and after cutting a fence with a bolt cutter, the representative body of the Madrid government, at the border crossing. I jumped over the roof. I said in a statement there.
Most were forcibly returned, but added that about 130 men managed to reach the excursion and were being processed at the reception center for immigrants.
Moroccan human rights watchdog AMD Nador said there was an invasion the day after migrants clashed with Moroccan security personnel in an attempt to clear up a camp set up in a forest near Melilla.
Watchdog head Omar Naji told Reuters that the clash was a "fierce crackdown" on immigrants as Spanish and Moroccan troops resumed joint patrols and strengthened security measures around the excursions. He said it was part of it.
Moroccan Interior Ministry officials in charge of immigration and border control did not get immediate comments.
The invasion was the first significant since mid-March when Spain adopted the position of pro-Rabat against Western Sahara. Western Sahara, a territory claimed by Morocco, is an area where Algerian-backed independence movements are demanding the establishment of sovereignty. state.
In the weeks of 2022 prior to the shift, migrants entering the two excursions were more than tripled compared to the same period in 2021.
In mid-2021, there were as many as 8,000 people swimming in Ceuta and climbing fences for two days, security on the Moroccan side of the border following bilateral diplomatic spats. I took advantage of the fact that the net was clearly lifted. (Report by Emma Pinedo, Christina Thykjaer in Madrid, Ahmed El Jechtimi in Morocco, edited by Aislinn Laing and John Stonestreet)
