Claire Wilson
SPANISH border police fired rubber bullets in an attempt to put off around 200 migrants who tried to cross the frontier between Morocco and Spain’s north African enclave Ceuta on February 6.
Several migrants from the group drowned in the Mediterranean trying to swim around a man-made breakwater that separates Moroccan and Spanish waters. The death toll so far is 12, and Spanish police are still searching for victims.
Every year thousands of Africans try to reach Europe via Spain’s two north African enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, either by swimming along the coast or climbing the triple walls lined with razor wire that mark the border with Morocco.
Migrants who live rough in the mountains on the Moroccan side, waiting for an opportunity to rush the frontier, told Spanish media the police fired rubber bullets at them and sprayed them with tear gas as they tried to swim to land.
Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez told a parliamentary commission that rubber bullets had been fired at a distance of at least 25 meters from the migrants while they were in the water. He did not mention use of tear gas.
The shots were never intended to hit migrants, he said, but were used as a deterrent. The actions were appropriate given the aggressive behavior of the migrants, the minister said.
Hundreds protested in central Madrid on Wednesday against the treatment of illegal migrants in Spain, bearing placards reading slogans such as: “Ceuta: the shame of Europe” and “South looted, North closed”.
Around 3,000 illegal migrants entered Spain in the first half of last year, official data showed, double the figure for the same period in 2012.
Interior Minister Fernandez said on Thursday the breakwater separating Spanish and Moroccan waters would be lengthened during to deter migrants trying to swim to Spanish territory.
What else can you expect from these jackbooted thugs?
The Guardia Civil is an excellent police force providing security not only around Gibraltar but also at the border in North African Spain.
Keep up the good work chaps!!
Gee Albert, how many migrants will you be willing to put up and feed at your home?
The Guardia Civil are a bunch of badly trained thugs. End of.
Ciudadanos
1. If “Keep up the good work chaps!!” means the death of fifteen desperate human beings then I really feel sorry for you.
2. I don’t quite think that the border between Gibraltar and Spain can be compared to the ones in Ceuta or Melilla.
Shouldn’t these “specialised units” (being over 6 foot doesn’t make you any better as a soldier. It might look impressive but height can be a detriment if you are a real soldier) be better used in Ceuta and Melilla?
Quite simple, old chap, give up Ceuta and Melilla and then these unfortunate migrants would not be stepping onto European soil!