Migrants and Asylum Seekers Breach Spain–Morocco Border Fence
More than 1,100 migrants and asylum seekers tried to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, the Associated Press reported.
The group tried to breach the border, injuring at least 50 Moroccan and Spanish border guards in the process.
“More than 400 migrants succeeded in breaching Ceuta’s fence in one of the biggest crossing attempts of recent years,” said the report.
Hundreds of sub-Saharan Africans try to enter Spain through Ceuta and the city of Melilla every year. Spanish government officials in Ceuta called this particular incident “extremely violent and organized,” according to a BBC report.
Crossings on the central Mediterranean route between the North African coast and Italy reached a new peak in 2016. The tide of arrivals is expected to continue over the winter months.
Italy Cracks Down on ‘Migrants Without Right to Stay’
The Italian government plans to open new detention centers to hold migrants without legitimate asylum claims before expelling them, Reuters reported.
The toughened stance on asylum seekers and new measures to control migration follow attacks in Berlin last month that killed 12 people and were carried out by a Tunisian man who came to Italy by boat in 2011. He had been denied asylum in Italy and was meant to be deported back to Tunisia. His case has become a prime example of the overwhelmed process in Italy, whereby only a fraction of rejected asylum seekers are being sent back.
Eurostat figures show that while 27,000 deportation orders were issued by Italy in 2015, only 5,000 migrants were sent back.
Italy’s Interior Ministry reported that the total number of people who have entered Italy has reached more than half a million in three years.
At least 175,000 asylum seekers are currently housed in shelters across the country, eight times more than in 2013.
According to the International Office of Migration (IOM), 2016 was also the deadliest year to date for Mediterranean crossings, with almost 5,000 deaths at sea.
Manus Politician Defends Police After Clash With Iranian Asylum Seekers
Ron Knight, the member of parliament for Manus Island, defended violent police action against two Iranian refugees who were purportedly harassing women on a street, the Guardian reported.
“Two very drunk asylum seekers stopping traffic and harassing women yesterday were approached by police,” Knight tweeted, following the incident on New Year’s Eve.
Fellow asylum seekers at Australia’s offshore detention center in Manus disputed the authorities’ version of the events while claiming that the officers, who were themselves “drunk,” had initiated the violence.
The two refugees were seriously wounded with “suspected fractures, facial wounds and internal injuries,” according to the Guardian report, which shows images of the wounded men.
Given that Manus center was set up by the Australian government set up to hold its asylum seekers, the Refugee Action Coalition claimed that the Australian government is a “party to the brutality.”
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