New Storming of Spanish Enclaves ( Illegal Immigrants Mob Border Points)

BBC ^ | 28 Sept 2005 | Staff

[Our_Man_In_Gough_Island]

Immigrants have used home-made ladders to scale the fences (Image: Melilla Hoy) Hundreds of immigrants have tried to break through border fences around the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa for a second night running. Some 200 succeeded in crossing, say Spanish police. Some 100 made it across the day before.

Almost 30 people, including policemen, have been injured in the mass assaults.

Melilla and nearby Ceuta are seen as stepping stones to Europe by African immigrants. Spain is doubling the height of the fences around Melilla.

Almost all the migrants who make it into an enclave claim asylum as soon as they arrive to prevent their immediate deportation. However, less than 10% of these applications are successful.

Police have logged 12,000 attempts to enter Melilla this year.

Many migrants are caught and many drown while attempting to make the sea crossing to Spain - either across the Mediterranean Sea or to the Canary Islands, over the Atlantic Ocean.

They cross in groups to increase their chances of getting over the double fence.

Mass arrests

A Guardia Civil spokesman said groups had been trying to cross where the perimeter fencing remains 3m high.

It is at these points where work is being carried out to double the height.

Spanish guards on the borders have responded to the attempted invasions with anti-riot methods.

The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity criticised what it called "the violence" used by the Spanish and Moroccan security forces.

In the past week, the Moroccan authorities have arrested more than 1,000 people planning to travel illegally to Europe.

Some 300 were Moroccan, the others from sub-Saharan Africa.

[Our_Man_In_Gough_Island]

The Spanish enclaves ( or " Plazas") are small toeholds of land along the Moroccan coast that are part of Spain. There is a map included in the article.

[livius]

Spain and Morocco are having a meeting on the "immigration" problem and representatives from Ceuta and Melilla were not even invited. Zapatero's "alliance of civilizations," remember? That means European civilization = bad, should be destroyed and Muslim non-civilization = good, should be permitted to take over.

Ceuta and Melilla were already shown in the Moroccan color on a map displayed by the Moroccan king about a year ago; I think their days as Spanish cities are numbered, and I have no doubt that Zapatero wants to turn them over to Morocco.

[Our_Man_In_Gough_Island]

An interesting observation, and it is equally interesting to see that the USA is not the only country having difficulties with large-scale illegal immigration.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Spain either passed or are considering new legislation catering to illegal aliens. Did they expect that would make it better?

[Dallas59]

But Europe is justified...right?

[Our_Man_In_Gough_Island]

In fact, this is not the only place in the EU where this sort of thing goes on. Two Italian islands near Africa, Pantelleria and Lampedusa, also are experiencing severe problems from immigrants coming by boat.