Thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in the last few days, including hundreds of youths who tried to swim their way around controls, Spanish authorities said on Monday.
Videos broadcast on Spanish media (see link via Tweet below) over the weekend showed Spanish police intercepting migrants in the water at night amid a thick fog but also in broad daylight, struggling to separate the new arrivals from crowds of beachgoers.
Cristina Pérez, the Spanish government’s representative in Ceuta said that since 22 August an average of 700 people had attempted to breach the border daily, with a peak of 1,500 attempts on Sunday. ALSO READ: Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez heads to West Africa as migrant arrivals surge.
Pérez did not disclose how many had successfully reached Ceuta but explained that following Spanish law that allowed for ‘border rejections’ the authorities were sending back to Morocco between 150 and 200 people a day. She thanked Moroccan authorities for their ‘loyal cooperation’.
Ceuta and Melilla — two tiny Spanish territories in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean — have long been targeted by migrants and refugees seeking better lives in Europe. Many attempt to climb over barbed wire fences encircling the autonomous cities or reaching the enclaves by sea.
Due to geography, Spain relies largely on Morocco’s goodwill to control those borders and keep migrants out. In 2021, following a diplomatic spat between the two nations, thousands of people, including many unaccompanied Moroccan children poured into Ceuta in a matter of days overwhelming Spanish authorities. ALSO READ: Spain sends in troops after 8,000 migrants enter Ceuta enclave from Morocco.
While Spain and Morocco have since normalised their relations and have been working together to tackle irregular migration, authorities in Ceuta say they are again under pressure this year. There have been 1,622 migrant arrivals to Ceuta from January to mid-August compared with just 620 in the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Spanish interior ministry.
In February, residents of the nearby Moroccan town of Belyounech attempted to swim to Ceuta after the Moroccan government began demolishing unauthorised beachside homes to make way for new development.
While the number of migrants to reach Ceuta represents just a tiny fraction of the more than 31,000 irregular arrivals to Spain this year, Pérez said the 18.5 sq km territory was under ‘extreme migratory pressure’.
Desde el pasado jueves, unos 700 migrantes, muchos menores, han intentado cruzar la frontera con Marruecos cada día, según Delegación del Gobierno
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) August 26, 2024
Los detalles, con Nuria Galán
📺https://t.co/naWgyi5WCX pic.twitter.com/o88BFg7Y1o
Más de una decena de menores han llegado a Ceuta desde Marruecos con flotadores durante la noche.
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) August 26, 2024
Comparece Cristina Pérez, delegada del Gobierno en Ceuta https://t.co/rscwNdu0AB pic.twitter.com/d6cOS1FgPJ
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