BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thousands of migrants have tried to cross the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in recent days, including hundreds of young people who tried to evade checks, Spanish authorities said Monday.
Videos broadcast on Spanish media over the weekend showed Spanish police intercepting migrants in the water at night in thick fog, and during the day trying to separate the new arrivals from the crowds of beachgoers.
Cristina Pérez, the Spanish government representative in Ceuta, told journalists on Monday that an average of 700 people a day have tried to cross the border since August 22, with a peak of 1,500 attempts on Sunday.
Pérez did not reveal how many people had successfully reached Ceuta, but explained that under Spanish law allowing for “border rejections” authorities were returning between 150 and 200 people to Morocco every day. She thanked Moroccan authorities for their “loyal collaboration”.
Ceuta And Melilla — two small Spanish territories in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea — have long been targeted by migrants and refugees seeking a better life in Europe. Many attempt to scale the barbed wire fences surrounding the autonomous cities or reach the enclaves by sea.
Due to its geographical location, Spain is largely dependent on Morocco’s goodwill to guard its borders and keep migrants out. In 2021After a diplomatic conflict between the two countries, thousands of people, including many unaccompanied Moroccan children, flooded into Ceuta in a few days, overwhelming the Spanish authorities.
While Spain and Morocco have since their relationships normalized and have worked together to tackle irregular migration, authorities in Ceuta say they are under pressure again this year. 1,622 migrants arrived in Ceuta from January to mid-August, compared to 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 illegal houses on the beach to make way for new construction projects.
While the number of migrants reaching Ceuta is only a fraction of the more than 31,000 irregular arrivals in Spain this year, Pérez said the 18.5 square kilometre area is under “extreme migratory pressure”.
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