The Melilla border fence forms part of the

Morocco–Spain border The Morocco–Spain border consists of three non-contiguous lines totalling 18.5 km (11.5 miles) around the Spanish territories of Ceuta (8 km; 5 miles), Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (75 metres; 80 yards) and Melilla (10.5 km; 6½ ...

in the city of

Melilla Melilla (, ; ) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga un ...

, one of two Spanish cities in north Africa. Constructed by Spain, its stated purpose is to stop

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

and

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

. Melilla's border and its equivalent in Ceuta, also bordering Morocco, are the only two land borders between the European Union and an African country.

Recent history

In September 2005, some thousands of

sub-Saharan African Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

migrants tried to climb over the fences in several waves moving upon Melilla. About 700 made it past the fences while six died in clashes with Moroccan security forces. The 2005 events at the Melilla and Ceuta border fences are the subject of a documentary film, ''Victimes de nos richesses''. Three hundred people attempted and 30 succeeded in climbing the fence in August 2020, some of the 2,250 people who entered Ceuta and Melilla in 2020. Eighty-seven people scaled the fence on 19 January 2021; nine were taken to hospital. 2000 people attempted to scale the fence on 24 June 2022; 133 successfully. Twenty-three people died and several were taken to the hospital.

Renovation

Anti-immigration sentiment toward African migrants prompted the Spanish government of

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

in 2005 to build up a new border fence. This border fence, built next to the two deteriorated existing ones, completely seals the border. In 2018, the new interior minister of Spain recognized the anti-immigration sentiment that the fence stems from and vowed to replace the razor wire along its top with more humane deterrents. "Spain's new interior minister has vowed to do "everything possible" to remove the "anti-migrant" razor wire fences, which separate Morocco from the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla." Vallas de Melilla

This third razor wire barrier cost Spain €33 million to construct. It consists of of parallel high fences topped with barbed wire, with regular watchposts and a road running between them to accommodate either police patrols or ambulance service in case of need. Underground cables connect spotlights, noise and movement sensors, and video cameras to a central control booth. In 2005 its height was doubled to since immigrants were climbing the previous fences equipped with home-made steps. Also, devices to slow them harmlessly were added to facilitate the intruders' detention. Even with three fences built, people still scale them and arrive on Spanish territory. From these,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

and

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

accused the Moroccan government of dumping people from various African countries (some of them claiming to be validly registered as political refugees) in an uninhabited area of the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

without food or water supplies.

References

External links

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2008-Oct-27: 50 persons enter Melilla after storm breaks the Fence
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* Melilla border fence photo gallery
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{{Borders of Spain Border barriers Morocco–Spain border Buildings and structures in Melilla European migrant crisis 21st century in Melilla 2005 in Spain 2005 in Morocco 2005 disasters in Morocco

Recent history

Renovation

See also

References

External links