TheMelilla border fence forms part of theMorocco–Spain border in the city ofMelilla, one of two Spanish cities in north Africa. Constructed by Spain, its stated purpose is to stopillegal immigration andsmuggling. Melilla's border andits equivalent in Ceuta, also bordering Morocco, are the only two land borders between the European Union and an African country.[1]
In September 2005, some thousands ofsub-Saharan 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.[2] The 2005 events at the Melilla and Ceuta border fences are the subject of a documentary film,Victimes de nos richesses.[3]
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.[4]2000 people attempted to scale the fence on 24 June 2022; 133 successfully. Twenty-three people died and several were taken to the hospital.[5]
Anti-immigration sentiment toward African migrants prompted the Spanish government ofJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 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."[6]
This third razor wire barrier cost Spain €33 million to construct. It consists of 11 km (6.8 mi) of parallel 3 m (9 ft 10 in) 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 6 m (19 ft 8 in) 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.[citation needed]
Even with three fences built, people still scale them and arrive on Spanish territory.[7] From these,Amnesty International andMédecins Sans Frontières accused the Moroccan government of dumping people from various African countries (some of them claiming to be validly registered aspolitical refugees) in an uninhabited area of theSahara Desert without food or water supplies.[8]
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