1,000 African Migrants Armed With Sticks, Improvised Spears Storm Spanish Border

African
AFP

A reported 1,000 African migrants armed with makeshift weapons tried to storm the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Tuesday morning.

According to Ceuta’s Civil Guard Command, at least three Spanish officers and 10 Moroccans were injured as authorities managed to push back the “extremely violent” mob of African migrants brandishing sticks, hand-made spears, and sharp objects, some of whom were throwing stones at police.

The fresh attempt to enter European Union (EU) territory from Morocco came just a day after a policeman’s leg was broken as 300 sub-Saharan Africans stormed the Tarajal crossing, 187 of them succeeding in their quest to break into the Spanish enclave.

https://twitter.com/JPY_Kurdish/status/894757441623146496

A Spanish government delegate in Ceuta, Nicolás Fernández Curucull, said the injuries occurred as a result of the migrants’ “violent behaviour” as they “overwhelmed the border agents”  — a statement slammed by Amnesty International as having the potential to “encourage hateful and xenophobic discourse”.

“Amnesty International has highlighted the rise of ‘us versus them’ rhetoric, which it is necessary to bring a stop to, on multiple occasions in recent times,” wrote the NGO in a press release which demands the EU open safe and legal routes of migration for sub-Saharan Africans.

Also on Tuesday, Spanish police detained 19 North African migrants who were found hiding in fairground lorries after a funfair in Ceuta, the BBC reported.

Officers with sniffer dogs and thermal imaging equipment found the group  — which consisted of Moroccans and Algerians  — amongst bumper cars and a ghost train, waiting to board a ferry to mainland Spain.

Breitbart London reported in March that Spain’s security minister warned attempts by migrants to storm Ceuta and the nation’s other North African enclave Melilla were becoming increasingly violent, with migrants not only using sticks but even iron bars and wire cutters to attack border guards.

And in February, 500 migrants managed to break through gates in a 20ft high fence in an assault on Spain’s border which left 15 police officers injured. Footage by Faro TV after the invasion showed the triumphant Africans running through the streets shouting, “Freedom!” to celebrate their illegal invasion of Europe.

 

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.