Melilla and Ceuta, the gateway for immigrants to Europe

Melilla and Ceuta are the lands of North Africa, where the Ottoman Navy once dominated…

Today, they are disputed areas between Spain and Morocco, two neighboring countries from the Mediterranean.

Melilla and Ceuta are places where the world’s irregular migrant crisis has been…

Migration route from Africa to Europe

Following the increased security measures in the Mediterranean, these regions became the new route of irregular migrants of African origin.

Melilla and Ceuta are seen by immigrants as the gateway to Europe, as they are the only land border connection between the European Union (EU) and Africa.

[Fotoğraf: AP]

“We know that there are 3 central routes”

Orsam North Africa Specialist Kaan Devecioğlu gave the following information about the migration route from Africa to Europe:

“Actually, we know that there are 3 central routes in the migration route from Africa to Europe. The first of these is the Central Mediterranean route. One of them refers to the transition to Italy via Libya. The other is the Western Mediterranean route. This is the city we are talking about from the west of Libya. “The western Mediterranean route, which includes the cities of Melila and Ceuta, which is also known as the Atlantic route, is on the European route. Another is the transition to the Canary Islands of Spain, which is known as the Atlantic route.”

Melilla is in northeastern Morocco, while Ceuta is near the Strait of Gibraltar.

Melilla, where 85,000 people live, is a small Mediterranean region located in the Northeast of Morocco.

100 thousand people live in Ceuta, another city located around the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Iberian Peninsula and the African continents, and the distance of the region to the Spanish mainland is 14 kilometers.

Cities that came under Spanish rule in the 1500s are recognized as autonomous regions according to the Spanish Constitution. However, the Moroccan state sees the two cities as their own land and wants them back from Spain.

“Ceuta and Melilla belong to Morocco”

In 2020, Moroccan Prime Minister Sadeddin El-Osmani made a statement stating that Ceuta Melilla “belongs to Morocco, like Western Sahara.”

This statement caused a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Kaan Devecioglu, “Spain also says against this, even though these cities, that is, you, as Morocco, declared these places as their own geographical extension in the process after the Kingdom of Morocco declared its independence after the war of independence in the post-World War II period, we have been dealing with these cities politically, geographically and culturally since the 16th century. He argues that Spain is a union, so it should remain Spanish territory because of this historical continuity.” said.

The crisis between Spain and Morocco

The crisis escalated further when Spain brought Ibrahim Gali, the Secretary General of the Polisario Front, who was fighting against Morocco for the independence of Western Sahara, to the country for the treatment of Kovid.

Moroccan authorities withdrew the Spanish Ambassador.

The fact that 8,500 irregular migrants crossed to Ceuta between 17-19 May 2021 brought the tension to the highest level.

The Spanish Army was deployed to the border.

According to the agreement between the two countries, those who came from the sea were returned to Morocco.

Devecioglu, “In the context of Sub-Saharan, we can say that the terrorism problems in the Sahel are the main causes of the climate crisis and famine. These are the reasons why people here want to flee to Europe.” said.

The border gates between the two countries remained closed for 795 days

Due to the COVID epidemic and diplomatic crisis, the land borders of the two countries were closed for a total of 795 days.

In addition, high-level contacts stopped for about 10 months.

However, the letter that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sent to the King of Morocco on 13 March 2022 turned the tide.

Fighting migrant smuggling

The Spanish Prime Minister’s statement that he supported the autonomy plan of Western Sahara helped to melt the ice.

Nowadays, the two countries have started to act jointly, especially on irregular migrant smuggling.

events of June 24

The last example was the stampede of immigrants on June 24. At the same time, more than 1,500 immigrants from Melilla broke through the entrance gate of the checkpoint in Chinatown on the Moroccan border.

Then, 130 people jumped from the 10-meter-long barbed wire fence and managed to enter Melilla. However, during the illegal passage, security forces and immigrants came face to face.

Due to the stampede, 18 people died by the Moroccan government, and 37 according to other sources.