Ceuta border fence

The fence

The Ceuta border fence forms part of the Morocco–Spain border at Ceuta,[1] a city on the North African coast. Constructed by Spain, its purpose is to prevent smuggling and to stop migrants from entering Europe. Morocco objected to the construction of the barrier since it does not recognize Spanish sovereignty in Ceuta.

The Ceuta-Morocco border fence, as seen from Ceuta.

Ceuta is an integral part of Spain, and therefore of the European Union; its border and its equivalent in Melilla are the only two land borders between the European Union and an African country.[2]

The fence consists of parallel 6 metre (20-foot) high[3] fences topped with barbed wire, with regular watchposts and a road running between them to accommodate police patrols or ambulance service in case of need. Underground cables connect spotlights, noise and movement sensors, and video cameras to a central control booth; dozens of guard ships and patrol boats check the coast, while 621 Guardia Civil officers and 548 police officers control the shore.[4]

  1. ^ Ferrer-Gallardo, Xavier; Albet-Mas, Abel (1 July 2016). "EU-Limboscapes: Ceuta and the proliferation of migrant detention spaces across the European Union". European Urban and Regional Studies. 23 (3): 527–530. Bibcode:2016EURS...23..527F. doi:10.1177/0969776413508766. hdl:10230/58908. ISSN 0969-7764.
  2. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (20 February 2017). "More Migrants Storm Fence to Enter Ceuta, Spanish Enclave in Africa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Spain/Morocco: Protect Migrants, Asylum Seekers". Human Rights Watch. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  4. ^ Valsecchi, Riccardo (25 June 2009). "Ceuta, the border-fence of Europe". New York: WorldPress.