Migrants attempt to cross the border separating Morocco from Spain in Melilla, February 19, 2015. – PHOTO / ANGELA RIOS ANGELA RIOS / AFP
Crossings to Spain from Morocco continue. On Tuesday, some 86 migrants managed to cross the high barrier protecting
the Spanish enclave of Melilla, indicated the prefecture.
In total, “more than 300” people from “sub-Saharan Africa” tried to cross the barrier Tuesday “around 4:45” (2:45 GMT), said the prefecture of Melilla in a statement.
Migrants taken to a temporary residence center
More than 200 people were pushed back, but “85 men and a woman managed to get in,” the statement said. The woman in question required the assistance of the Red Cross, said the prefecture.
“The migrants maintained an aggressive stance and threw stones at the agents,” three of whom had to receive treatment for “minor bruises,” added the prefecture. The migrants who managed to enter were taken to the Enclave’s Temporary Stay Center (CETI).
Nearly 1,500 migrants returned to Morocco
This Tuesday, Spain returned to Morocco 1,500 of the some 6,000 migrants who entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Monday, the Spanish Minister of the Interior announced on Tuesday. “Some 6,000 people” entered
Ceuta and “at this time, we have dismissed 1,500 of these people and we are in the process of continuing these dismissals,” said the minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, on Spanish public television.
He indicated that out of this total of 6,000 people, there could be 1,500 minors, while specifying that it was “too early” to provide a definitive figure. The minister defended these referrals, saying they were “in accordance with the law and international treaties and agreements with Morocco”. Ceuta and Melilla constitute the only land borders of the European Union with Africa and are regularly the scene of attempted forced passages by migrants.