A thousand sub-Saharans have tried to cross the perimeter divided into several groups
The migratory pressure in Melilla does not stop. More than a thousand sub-Saharans tried early this Tuesday morning to cross the perimeter in a new massive jump, days after the human avalanches recorded last week, the largest known in the history of the city. On this occasion, the Moroccan security forces, who came to use irritating gases against the ‘undocumented’, prevented the foreigners from reaching the perimeter.
The new assault attempt began to take shape at 6 in the morning. At that time, the fence cameras captured nearly a thousand people moving in a “perfectly coordinated manner” towards the border.
Before reaching the perimeter, the Sub-Saharans divided into several groups. Shortly before 8 in the morning, one of those groups, made up of some 400 people according to the estimates of the Government Delegation, managed to reach the barbed wire fence in an area located between Chinatown and the Beni Enzar pass, precisely the area which has been the scene in recent days of assault attempts, presenting several weak points.
The Government delegation stressed that “the perfect coordination and impeccable performance of the Moroccan Security Forces, which have been harassed with violence” was what “stopped the jump to the Melilla fence”, without any of the “undocumented” being able to reach national territory.
Deployment
Even so, dozens of civil guards, national police and local people were deployed for hours in the area, given the possibility that this new avalanche managed to overcome the fence, as happened last week when some 850 immigrants entered national territory.
On Wednesday, in the biggest assault in Melilla’s history, some 500 sub-Saharans entered the city. And on Thursday there were 350. On Friday, the police action prevented a third consecutive assault.
According to estimates by the Spanish security forces, between 4,000 and 5,000 immigrants are these days in the vicinity of Melilla waiting to storm the fence.
The last jumps -Fernando Grande-Marlaska has insistently denounced- have been especially violent. The Minister of the Interior, who visited Melilla last weekend, defended the actions of the security forces against criticism of the Civil Guard for the harshness shown against some of the non-EU citizens.
“A democratic state cannot allow its borders and its public servants to be violently attacked,” was the recurring response from the head of the Interior from Melilla about the actions of the agents of the armed institute.
Grande-Marlaska, who was informed of this aspect during his visit to the North African city, insisted at all times that officials made “proportionate” and “necessary” use of violence during the avalanches, despite the fact that the “organized” jumps ” this week – he explained – were of an “unusual violence”. According to the minister, the foreigners, in addition to hooks, used hammers, “large sticks” and “screws”, with “significant risk to the integrity of the servers.” In fact, as reported, more than 50 civil guards were injured, some of them of “certain entity”, between last Wednesday and Thursday in the attacks of foreigners who, he reiterated, were of “extraordinary violence.”