7 December 2018

Spain to remove blades from Ceuta and Melilla fences

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced that he will bring to the Council of Ministers in January a project to remodel Spanish borders to remove the wire of blades of the fences of Ceuta and Melilla, covering them since 2005. This decision comes after the Council of Ministers agreed in June to prepare a report with the aim of “establishing different methods to ensure our border security but not by bloody means”, and due to the injuries this causes to the many migrants that try to jump the fence. In 2009, one person bled to death from the injuries caused, and five years ago, Spain decided to place more blades in the superior zone of the fence of Melilla, the most dangerous, which provoked numerous criticisms from civil society groups and the opposition. The remodelling project studies the elevation of the fences of Ceuta and Melilla in some areas and the installation of new thermal cameras able to detect movement.

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