Marruecos construye una nueva valla fronteriza con el fin de controlar la inmigración ilegal
The Kingdom of Morocco is working on the construction of an iron fence in northern Morocco near Ceuta as part of a plan to combat illegal immigration, under Spanish supervision.
As revealed by the newspaper El Faro de Ceuta, Morocco is said to have started this construction with the aim of reinforcing its border control in the city of Ceuta. The construction consists of three interception walls that would prevent illegal migrants from crossing the border, thus paralysing the flow of migrants to Europe.
Expert observers in migration policy believe that this construction will limit the infiltration of migrants into the Ceuta crossing. Since 2017, Morocco has been leading different plans to combat illegal immigration, having managed to thwart more than 14,000 attempts to emigrate, dismantled 5,000 smuggling networks and rescued more than 80,500 migrants at sea, according to data provided by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In this sense, next October a new project will begin in which 12,000 cubic metres of sand will be transferred along the Ceuta breakwater, so that the water can submerge the entire barrier up to the points where the Guardia Civil is located. This project would contradict what was previously announced by the president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, about his intention to remove the breakwater from the border fence after the leaves had injured immigrants in their attempt to cross the border.
This project comes in response to the diplomatic crisis that both countries have been going through since Spain allowed Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali to enter Spain to receive medical aid, without first consulting Morocco. Ghali's entry led to a chill in bilateral relations between the two countries, which was reflected in the massive influx of more than 8,000 illegal Moroccan immigrants who reportedly crossed the border separating Morocco from Spain, with little impediment from the Alawite authorities.
In this context, Rabat has accused Madrid of trying to involve the European Union in this crisis by using the pretext of migration in order to divert attention from the real focus of the problem and the trigger that led to the deterioration of bilateral relations: the entry of Brahim Ghali into Spain with false documentation to receive treatment in a hospital in Logroño without informing Morocco. Following the unprecedented wave of migration in the region, the Moroccan authorities stepped up surveillance near the Fnideq crossing, located just 5 kilometres from Ceuta's seaport.
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry affirms that the European position on this issue "contradicts Morocco's exemplary record of cooperation in the field of migration with the European Union". They add that 'those who try to criticise Morocco in this field are the same people who benefit from the tangible and daily results of cooperation in this area'.