350 Migrants Enter Spain after Breaching the Ceuta Border Fence

CEUTA, Spain – Some 350 sub-Saharan migrants managed on Monday to enter the autonomous Spanish city of Ceuta after breaching the border fence that separates that territory from Morocco, emergency services said.

Red Cross emergency response teams in the area said 11 people who were injured scaling the tall fence were taken to hospital for treatment, three of those suffered possible fractures.

The latest border breach followed on from a similar incident on Friday when close to 500 migrants hurdled the barrier and entered Spain’s Ceuta.

Police told EFE that Monday’s breach occurred just before 4:00 am local time amid the torrential rain and strong winds currently lashing the region.

The adverse weather conditions were advantageous for those trying to cross the border, police said, because the strong gusts of wind have been triggering the border alarms on the fence continuously, making it difficult for security agents to discern when an actual breach was taking place.

The Red Cross initially said 300 people had crossed into Ceuta but military units later revised that number to 350 when more migrants arrived at the refugee center in the Spanish territory.

Over 800 people have entered Ceuta since Friday, and the refugee center was dealing with around 1,400 at one time, almost three times its capacity of 512.

Its location in the very north of Africa, combined with its status as European Union territory, makes Ceuta a target for the thousands of sub-Saharan migrants making their journey towards Europe.


350 Migrants Enter Spain after Breaching the Ceuta Border Fence