"Spain heightens fence at African enclave"
Posted Mon, Oct 3, 2005 at 7:21 am
Spain has two enclaves in Morocco: Melilla and Ceuta. That country claims they're Moroccan property, and Spain also has to contend with refugees trying to use the outposts to get onto European soil. So, they've built a 10' high double-fence around Melilla, including a wide array of sensors and even guards using rubber bullets.
Now:
Now:
Spanish authorities are rushing to double the height of a fence surrounding the north African enclave of Melilla after a dozen more immigrants were injured in a battle with police as they tried to find a way on to European soil.UPDATE: See "Hundreds of immigrants tear through border fence" and "Spain asks EU for strict policy against illegal immigration".
The injuries followed the deaths of at least three immigrants over the past three weeks during mass attempts to storm the frontier that have ended in clashes with both Spanish police and their Moroccan counterparts on the other side of Melilla's border. Immigrants are using ladders and what one official called "military tactics" in their increasingly desperate attempts to get through the barrier erected around what is, in effect, a land frontier between the European Union and Africa.