Spain has two enclaves (Melilla and Ceuta) which actually sit on the African continent bordering Morocco. Every now and then, sub-Saharan Africans use Morocco as a jumping-off point to storm the border fences in Melilla and Ceuta, overpowering border guards before claiming asylum. To make matters worse, Morocco, a country that has already sent thousands upon thousands of criminals (Moroccan Mafia) into Western Europe to control the drug trade and commit mayhem, also turns a blind eye to the thousands upon thousands of sub-Saharan Africans who use Morocco as their transit point.
Below is an article from yesterday's El Mundo (Spain) in which sources within the border guards complain that the border is ruled by Morocco and when that country wants to punish Spain, they open the floodgates. The Civil Guards complain that the Spanish Ministry of Interior does not give them the necessary support. They also expect another massive assault at Melilla soon with hundreds of migrants already nearing the border.
The below article is translated by Fousesquawk.
https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2023/06/23/649469edfc6c8316688b459f.html
Immigration
The police in Melilla warn: "Morocco rules here, when they want to punish Spain, they will once again permit a massive crossing."
One year after the tragedy, Guardia Civil personnel stationed at the fence warn that there are some 1,500 migrants at Mount Gurugu.
Caption: Civil Guards try to contain the assault on the fence at Melilla on 24 June, 2022.
The polemics and the questions involving the tragedy at the fence in Melilla are not fading rather they are growing one year after 23 migrants-according to the official number and 37 according to the NGOs- died at the border crossing while trying to reach Europe. The fence crossing in the early hours of the morning on 24 June 2022 was dynamite for the ministry of Fernando Grande-Marlaska. What happened here attracted the attention of Europe and global media, and inflamed the NGOs and all opposition parties.
Five months later, the BBC threw salt on the wound in the worst possible way: A documentary placed some of the deceased migrants in a zone under Spanish control. Up to today, the number of persons who lost their lives continues to be unknown. At this time, Grande-Marlaska has always attempted to distance his ministry from the tragedy and knock down any alternative construction to his story-shared by the Guardia Civil- that there were no deaths on the Spanish side and that police action took place on a legal basis.
The Minister of the Interior has also had to face the Public Defensor's Office, who accused him of illegal and massive deportations, the insistence of the European Parliament for him to appear and explain what happened, and the contempt of humanitarian organizations. In the middle, the civil guards in charge of guarding the border. Twelve months later, they reflect on a drama that, they warn, will repeat itself "when Morocco wants". Their years of experience lead them to that conclusion. They know how the Alaouite kingdom works and also the determination of the migrants to reach Europe.
“They will keep coming, they will keep trying to cross the fence because they are desperate. They have not traveled 3,000 kilometers in Africa to the gates of Europe, to return home”, reasons one of them. At this time, says another of the agents consulted, they have evidence that there are 1,500 migrants at Mount Gurugu, the redoubt in which they take refuge before trying to violate the fence. They regret that what happened on June 24, 2022 did not help (the Ministry of) Interior to take note. "We continue exactly the same as a year ago. Without the resources, neither material nor human, to face another avalanche of this type," they complain.
They report that shields broken on that day have not been repaired, and anti-riot helmets announced by the minister after the events have not arrived either. "We still have the same equipment as 30 years ago," they lament. "We feel abandoned by the hand of God," they conclude.
"Nothing has CHANGED"
Among the border agents' personnel, there is resentment. “At first, it was all demonstrations of support. The minister comes a lot, but at the moment of truth, nothing has changed. Things continue at exactly the same point and here, we all know from our own experience that Morocco is in charge. When they want to punish Spain, they will return to allowing a massive crossing." At the time of the avalanche, they say, there were only five guards to contain the more than 2,000 people who were trying to reach Spain. The border crossing experienced an episode of extreme violence.
The assault showed that nothing has changed in the structure of border control. The agents had to contain the multitude with the same anti-riot equipment from 30 years ago, despite the ministry announcement after the border debacle that occurred in the month of March. At that time, there were 16 Civil Guards guarding the fence, the same as occurred in March 2022- when the most massive assault in the history of the Melilla fence was recorded with 2,500 people in an avalanche, which was the 4th massive attempt the Guardia Civil had to repulse over 6 days. A total of 800 migrants succeeded (4,300 attempted), and practically all of them have already applied for asylum. (It) turned into a pitched battle between those who wanted to enter Spain and the agents charged with guarding the border. There were 50 agents of the Guardia Civil and National Police who were injured, and 23 migrants who died, according to official numbers. Shortly afterward, the Interior Ministry provoked a monumental storm in the Guardia Civil-especially among the agents who guard the fence at Melilla- with the sudden dismissal of the chief of the city's command. Jesus Vicente Torresano was removed from the Melilla command after going public with his differences with the General Director of the Armed Institute weeks after being appointed.
According to agency sources, Torresano wanted to implement specific instructions so that the agents could act under legal protection against the migrants who assaulted them in successive charges against the fence and refused to open an inquiry into the Civil Guards who threw rocks at the Sub Saharans who wanted to reach Spain last June 24.
The Secretary of Communication of Jucil, Agustin Leal, describes a chronic situation. "This administration and the (Interior) Ministry continue to neglect security, and the consequences are paid, in the first instance, by Civil Guards and afterward, by the population. We are asking that the national legislation and that of the EU in matters of immigration be applied because this will mitigate the effect. It is unacceptable that everyone who enters our territory illegally and at unauthorized points is entitled to the process of asylum."
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