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ARCHIVED - Spanish government ups its security plan for North Africa following Ceuta riots
The Spanish government will include the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa within its security plans.
Following the migrant crisis in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta last week which saw around 9,000 people break down borders to cross over from Morocco and the Spanish army intervene, Spain’s central government said it will be putting together a security plan to protect its enclaves in North Africa.
The government said that last week’s incident in Ceuta showed that the issues facing Spain’s national security there were not just limited to migration, after it was claimed that that Moroccan border guards did nothing to prevent the thousands of people storming into the city.
Tensions between Spain and Morocco over the issue of sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla have been boiling over for some years, however relations between the two countries recently became very tense when Morocco claimed that political opponent Brahim Ghali was being given medical care in Spain under a false name.
Spain has also been accused of returning many of the migrants who made their way into Ceuta last week without proper access to legal support, a claim which was rejected by the Spanish authorities.
The government in Spain has since defended calling in the army, saying said it had been forced to do so to ensure the safety of those living in Ceuta in line with human rights and international legislation, as well as with the support of the European authorities.
So far, the Moroccan authorities have accepted the return of around 7,500 of the 9,000 irregular migrants who made their way into Ceuta during the incident back into Morocco.
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