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While Spain is occupied these days by deciphering the hows and whens of the twin attacks that targeted the southern region of its territory, Ceuta and Mellila, the two Spanish enclaves in Africa remain at the center of the fight against terrorism. Following the deadly attacks carried out by a cell whose members are all of Moroccan descent; attention has been directed at the two territories. According to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit media outlet that uses content sourced from academic research community, «more than a third of the 1,500 Moroccan citizens who left to fight in Syria since 2011 have originated from the areas adjacent to Ceuta».
Fighting illegal immigration, authorities from both Morocco and Spain have been cooperating to stop the flow of immigrants trying to force their way into the two enclaves. «Since the late 1990s, the EU has spent money shoring up the border controls around Ceuta and Melilla, paying Morocco for helping to protect the border and funding a 20ft high fence around the towns», states the same source.
Despite the restrictive procedures adopted by the two countries, 2017 has been a significant year for illegal immigration. Reportedly, «between January and May 2017, 2,658 people arrived in Ceuta and Melilla by land, compared to 5,932 in 2016», indicates the Conversation quoting the UN recent estimates.
The ECJ verdict
«In January 2017, when around 1,000 migrantscharged the border fencetrying to gain access to Ceuta, over 50 security officials – the majority from Morocco – were injured in the clashes. And in early August, 180 migrantsmanaged to cross the perimeter into Ceuta».
The same source argues that one of the primordial reasons why attempts to break into Ceuta and Mellila increased is the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The latter’s verdict issued on December 2016, excluded the Western Sahara's goodies from the trade agreement signed by Morocco and the European Union. «The increase in migrant arrivals in 2017 has been interpreted as Morocco issuing a warning to the EU about its power to control the flow of migrants to Europe», explains the Australian media platform.
The migrants who try to cross the fence separating Morocco from Ceuta and Melilla are not all jihadists who have been recruited by ISIS as there is no evidence supporting that.
