The Ceuta border fence forms part of the

Morocco–Spain border The Morocco–Spain land 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 ...

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

, a city on the North African coast. Constructed by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, its purpose is to prevent

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. There are various ...

and to stop migrants from entering Europe. Morocco objected to the construction of the barrier since it does not recognize Spanish sovereignty in Ceuta. CeutaBorderFence

Ceuta is an integral part of Spain, and therefore of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

; its border and its equivalent in

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. 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 par ...

are the only two land borders between the European Union and an African country. The fence consists of parallel 6 metre (20-foot) high

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

s topped with

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

, with regular watchposts and a road running between them to accommodate 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; dozens of guard ships and patrol boats check the coast, while 621

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the a ...

officers and 548 police officers control the shore.

History

In 1993 a high and long fence was built around the exclave. As the first fence was too easy to cross the construction of a new system started in 1995 bringing it up to . In 2005 the height was further increased, from in height.Building Fortress Europe? Schengen and the Cases of Ceuta and Melilla
/ref>

Breaches

2005 attempted border breach

On 7 October 2005, the border fence was assaulted by hundreds of migrants, attracting international attention. Caught between Spanish

rubber bullet Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type of baton round. Despite the name, rubber bullets typically have either a metal core with a rubber coating, or are a homogeneous admixture with rubber being a minority component. Altho ...

s and Moroccan gunfire, a number of migrants died (sources put the number of deaths between 13EUROPA - Press Releases - Visit to Ceuta and Melilla – Mission Report Technical mission to Morocco on illegal immigration 7 October– 11 October 2005
/ref> and 18 people) and more than 50 were wounded. Some of the dead were wounded by live ammunition; of those, two died on the Spanish side of the fence, apparently shot from the Moroccan positions. The 2005 events at the Ceuta and

Melilla border fence The Melilla border fence forms part of the Morocco–Spain border in the city of Melilla, one of two Spanish cities in north Africa. Constructed by Spain, its stated purpose is to stop illegal immigration and smuggling. Melilla's border and i ...

s are the subject of a documentary film, ''Victimes de nos richesses''. Since then, migrants have occasionally died while trying to break through the fence.

2016 breach

The fence was breached by an organised group of 400 illegal entrants in December 2016.

2017 breach

On 17 February 2017, an estimated 600 migrants, some armed with clubs and shears, broke through the security gates, and 300 of them are reported to have entered Ceuta, where police attempted to locate them.

2018 breaches

* In June 2018, 400 migrants, the majority of whom were Moroccans, stormed the fence in Ceuta. * In July 2018, 602 migrants forced their way across the border using shears, sticks and edged weapons. The migrants sprayed corrosive substances, excrement and urine on police officers, resulting in 22 Spanish police officers being wounded, four of whom suffered major burns. After this breach, the border was reinforced with more personnel, extra police vehicles and a helicopter equipped with

night-vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

equipment. * In August 2018, of the hundreds who attempted to force their way into Ceuta, more than 100 people succeeded, bringing the overall total to 1,400. The migrants again threw excrement and corrosive substances at the Spanish police, wounding seven, some of whom suffered burns. The following day, 116 Africans were deported back across the border per a 1992 bilateral agreement between Spain and Morocco.

2019 breaches

In August 2019, migrants stormed the fence using sticks and acid. Dozens were injured, 4 people died on the barbed wire and 11 border agents were wounded.

2021 breaches

There were further breaches in May 2021, when migrants were filmed swimming or walking around the ends of the fence on the adjoining beaches at low tide.

References

Bibliography in English

* Ferrer-Gallardo, Xavier. 2008.
The Spanish-Moroccan Border Complex: Processes of Geopolitics, Functional and Symbolic Rebordering.
''Political Geography'' 27: 301–321. * Gold, Peter. 2000.
Europe or Africa: A Contemporary Study of the North African Enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla
'. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. * Moffette, David. 2013.
Muslim Ceutíes, Migrants and Porteadores: Race, Security and Tolerance at the Spanish-Moroccan Border.
''Canadian Journal of Sociology'' 38(4): 601–621. * Valsecchi, Riccardo. 2009.
Ceuta, the border-fence of Europe
WorldPress, 25 June 2009.

External links

*
Spain: building border fence

Ceuta, the border-fence of Europe

Attacking Europe's border fences
* Ceuta border fence photo gallery
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceuta Border Fence Border barriers constructed during the European migrant crisis Morocco–Spain border Buildings and structures in Ceuta Infrastructure completed in 1993