Migrants Jump Over Border Fence in Spanish City in Africa

Some 150 sub-Saharan migrants on Tuesday tried to enter the Spanish city of Melilla by jumping the border fence with Morocco.

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Spanish authorities reported that 87 people entered this North African city although Moroccan and Spanish security forces tried to prevent it.

After jumping over the fence, the Sub-Saharan migrants ran into the city in a group. Of those, 78 people were taken to the Center for the Temporary Stay of Immigrants (CETI) and another nine migrants were transferred to the regional hospital to be treated for various injuries.

This border crossing is the largest incursion in the last five months after the jump that occurred on August 19, 2020, when 300 migrants tried to overcome the border barrier.

Melilla and Ceuta, which are Spanish cities in North Africa, are land borders of the European Union (EU) on that continent.

To contain the passage of sub-Saharan and Maghrebian migrants, Spain's Interior Minister reinforced the border fence with barbed wire and other deterrents. However, the remodeling of the Melilla fence has not prevented the continued irregular influx of African migrants.

In the first two weeks of January, at least 60 migrants entered by land although the border posts with Morocco have been closed since March 13, 2020.