VVideos 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 swimmers.
Cristina Pérez, the Spanish government representative in the enclave located on the African continent, told reporters on Monday that since August 22 an average of 700 people have tried to cross the border irregularly per day, with a peak of 1,500 attempts on Sunday.
Pérez did not reveal how many people had successfully reached Ceuta, but explained that authorities had been sending back between 150 and 200 people per day to Morocco and thanked the Moroccan authorities for their “loyal cooperation.”
On August 4, 21 Moroccan and Algerian immigrants, including nine minors, swam to Ceuta, departing from the coast of Castillejos, in Morocco, to go around the border breakwater of Tarajal, taking advantage of favorable 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 better lives in Europe.
Many try to climb the barbed wire fences that surround the autonomous cities.
Due to geography, Spain relies largely on Morocco’s goodwill to control its borders and keep migrants out.
In 2021, following a diplomatic dispute between the two nations, thousands of people, including many unaccompanied children, flocked to Ceuta in just a few days, overwhelming Spanish authorities.
Although Spain and Morocco have since normalized relations and worked together to combat irregular migration, authorities in Ceuta say they are under pressure again this year.
The enclave saw 1,622 migrants arrive between January and mid-August, compared with just 620 in the same period last year, according to statistics released by Spain’s 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 migrants arriving in Ceuta represents only a small fraction of the more than 31,000 irregular arrivals in Spain this year, Pérez said the 18.5 square kilometre territory was under “extreme migratory pressure”.
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2621685/milhares-de-imigrantes-tentaram-chegar-a-ceuta-a-nadovindos-de-marrocos
