Coronavirus pandemic could not stop almost 300 migrants from besieging the barbed-wire fence of Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa, where about 53 of them successfully climbed over. Spanish guards stopped more than 200 others from entering.
Spain is in a lockdown just like most other countries in a bid to slow the spread of Corona virus disease (Covid-19) recording 141,942 total confirmed cases and 14,045 total deaths as at Tuesday, April 7.
Guardia Civil police force Chief, Jose Manuel Santiago said the migrants used metal hooks and threw rocks at police as they stormed the 20-foot high double barbed wire fence on Monday.
“We will continue to work with Morocco to avoid [breaches of the border], we will not let down our guard,”
police chief, Santiago said.
Many of those making the dangerous journey come from Eritrea and Somalia.
Melilla is a major crossing point for sub-Saharan Africans seeking work or asylum in Europe. Together with a second Spanish enclave, Ceuta, it is the European Union’s only land border with Africa.
The two North African enclaves, Melilla and Ceuta, are the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.
Migrants regularly try to enter the enclaves by scaling the border fences, but the number of crossings has declined. In the first three months of 2020, 1,140 succeeded in making the land crossing, 214 fewer than during the same period last year, according to the Spanish interior ministry.
