Spain begins building barrier in Ceuta to stem migrant flow

Spain has begun erecting a 500-meter barrier between its North African territory (the city of Ceuta) and neighboring Morocco, following the arrival of between 50 000 and 60 000 migrants across the country.

NBC News writes about this.

The barrier will rise 30-70 centimeters above the water surface and reach a depth of up to one meter, Reuters adds. It is being installed on the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main routes for migrants.

The Spanish government said the death toll had risen to 86, some drowning and others dying in overcrowding. Several exhausted migrants who swam to the beach in the town of Tarajal in Ceuta on Saturday were met by soldiers who escorted them back across the border.

The Spanish Interior Ministry claims that most of those who entered the territory have already returned to Morocco. As journalists noted, people began to return because they had no food or place to sleep.

• On Thursday , migrants began pouring into the Spanish city in droves: some swam across the sea on car trailers, others broke through border gates. Media reported that some had died.
• Ceuta and Melilla are the EUʼs only land borders with Africa. After the Supreme Court ruling, Spain said that smugglers and shippers had stepped up illegal crossings. There was a similar crisis in 2021, when almost 10 000 people reached Ceuta in a few days.

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