Spanish police intercepted migrants in the water at night, in thick fog, but also in broad daylight. Officers are having difficulty separating migrants from swimmers.
Thousands of migrants, including hundreds of young people, have tried in recent days to swim from the Moroccan coast to the autonomous city of Ceuta to escape border controls, Spanish authorities said.
Videos broadcast by Spanish media over the weekend show Spanish police intercepting migrants in the water at night, in thick fog, but also in broad daylight, struggling to separate the new arrivals from the crowds of bathers.
Cristina Pérez, representative of the Spanish Government in the enclave located on the African continent, told reporters on Monday that since August 22, a An average of 700 people attempted to cross the border illegally per daywith a peak of 1,500 attempts on Sunday.
Perez did not reveal how many people had successfully reached Ceuta, but said authorities had been sending back to Morocco between 150 and 200 people a day and thanked the Moroccan authorities for their “loyal cooperation.”
On 4 August, 21 Moroccan and Algerian migrants, including nine minors, swam to Ceuta, starting from the coast of Castillejos, in Morocco, to avoid the Tarajal border breakwater, taking advantage of favourable weather conditions.
Ceuta and Melilla – two small Spanish territories in North Africa, on the Mediterranean coast – have long been targets for migrants and refugees seeking a better life in Europe.
Many are trying to scale the barbed wire fences surrounding the autonomous cities.
Due to geography, Spain relies heavily on Morocco’s goodwill to control its borders and keep immigrants away.
In 2021, following a diplomatic dispute between the two nations, thousands of people, including many unaccompanied children, flocked to Ceuta in a matter of days, overwhelming Spanish authorities.
Although Spain and Morocco have since normalised relations and worked together to combat irregular migration, authorities in Ceuta say they are under pressure again this year.
The enclave recorded the Arrival of 1,622 migrants between January and mid-August, compared with just 620 in the same period last year, according to statistics published by the Spanish Interior Ministry.
In February, residents of the nearby town of Belyounech attempted to swim to Ceuta after the Moroccan government began demolishing unauthorized seaside homes to make way for new developments.
Although the number of immigrants arriving in Ceuta represents only a small fraction of the More than 31,000 irregular arrivals in Spain this yearPerez said the 18.5 square kilometer territory was under “extreme migratory pressure.”
Source: Observadora
