13 May 2019

52 migrants cross Melilla fence

On May 13, more than 100 migrants tried to jump the fences to Spain’s autonomous city Melilla, 52 of which were successful and are now staying in the Melilla Temporary Centre for Immigrants. The migrants were from Sub-Saharan origin, mainly from Cameroon and Ivory Coast, and most of them presented wounds caused by the numerous concertina wires in the top parts of the fences, one of them needing hospitalization. This event challenges Spanish Minister of Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska’s forecast on the descent of irregular arrivals of migrants in Spain. The last jump of this magnitude took place in October 2018, was more than 200 people tried to reach Melilla, causing 3 deaths.

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