Migrants make new border incursion to enter Spanish city

24/6/2022 18:59

        Dozens of migrants tried to breach the border between Morocco and the Spanish city of Melilla on Friday, the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month.
        
        A spokesperson for the Spanish government's office in Melilla said about 400 people attempted to enter the North African city but many were stopped by Spanish Civil Guard police and Moroccan forces on the other side of a border fence.
        
        Those who succeeded in crossing went to a local migrant center, where authorities were evaluating their circumstances.
        
        The spokesperson, who could not be identified by name in keeping with government rules, said several hundred people remained gathered on the Moroccan side.
        
        People fleeing poverty and violence sometimes make mass attempts to reach Melilla and the other Spanish territory on the North African coast, Ceuta, as a springboard to continental Europe.
        
        Spain normally relies on Morocco to keep migrants away from the border.