Spain: Rubber bullets should not have been fired

SPAIN’S interior minister has admitted police should not have fired rubber bullets at migrants trying to reach Ceuta last month.

Jorge Fernandez Diaz said that rubber bullets were unlikely to deter migrants from the country’s North African enclave.

At least 15 migrants drowned on February 6 as hundreds tried to swim to Ceuta from Morocco.

The police were criticised by the EU and rights groups who said the bullets could have played a role in the deaths.

This is the first time the Spanish government has admitted that police should not have used rubber bullets.

At the time Fernandez Diaz said coast guards had not shot directly at the migrants, and rubber bullets did not cause the deaths of any of those who drowned.

About 150 people tried to break into Melilla this weekend.

According to police, it was the second attempt in less than 24 hours, and 15 made it into the city before being arrested.