The Melilla 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 ...

in the city of

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 ...

, 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 the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

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. There are various ...

. 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, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African ...

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 January 19, 2021; nine were taken to hospital. 2000 people scaled the fence on 25 June 2022; 133 successfully. Eighteen people died and several were taken to the hospital.

Renovation

Anti-immigration sentiment Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

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 ...

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 has vowed to replace the razor wire that runs 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, in order to facilitate the intruders' detention, devices to slow them harmlessly were added. 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 it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...

accused the Moroccan government of dumping people from various African countries (some of them claiming to be validly registered as

political refugees The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

) in an uninhabited area of the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

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