The death toll in the migrant crisis on the border between the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and Morocco has reached 67, the Spanish government said today, quoted by the Associated Press, reported BTA.
Among the dead are migrants who drowned, as well as people who died while trying to cross the breakwater that serves as a border facility.
Spain announced that it will build a 500-meter barrier along the breakwater that juts out into the sea after about 60,000 migrants crossed the border of the small Spanish enclave between Thursday and Friday.
The Spanish Interior Ministry said that most of the migrants, entered the Spanish enclave in North Africa have already returned to Morocco.
“Daily life in the city was disrupted as a result of the incident at the border“, said the president of Ceuta Juan Jesús Vivas. According to him, the return of the migrants is going well, but the process is not yet complete and the city has not returned to its normal rhythm.
However, some of the migrants remain in Ceuta. Among them is 23-year-old Moroccan Mohamed Khatri, who said that the authorities closed shops to force them to return to their homeland. "But even if everything remains closed, we will stay here, whether we are hungry or not," he said.
Around 500 people also tried to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla yesterday evening, Spanish public broadcaster “ERTVE“ reported, quoted by DPA.
Security forces were sent to the scene, and about two hours later another group of migrants tried to overcome the border fence. According to the agency, some of the migrants threw stones at the law enforcement officers, who used tear gas. It is not yet clear whether any of the migrants managed to enter Melilla. The border crossing “Beni Enzar“ has been closed since Thursday evening.
An unknown number of migrants are still in Ceuta, home to about 85,000 people.
The North African coastal cities of Ceuta and Melilla have been under Spanish control for centuries.