Ceuta and Melilla: why does Spain own two cities in Africa?

Spanish government wants to remove
‘anti-migrant’ razor wire fences surrounding the enclaves

In Depth

Coils of razor blades top some of the fences that surround the
two autonomous towns, which as territories of Spain form the only
direct land borders between Europe and Africa. Migrants trying to
reach European shores frequently try to scale the 6ft-high
barriers, despite risking serious injury.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who became Spain’s interior
minister earlier this month, has commissioned a report into finding
the “least bloody possible” alternative means of preserving border
security.

But why does Spain own two towns in North Africa – and why are
they so controversial?

History

The port town of Ceuta and its larger sister city Melilla sit
around 250 miles apart on the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and
their Spanish past traces back more than 400 years, Slate report.

For centuries, Ceuta and Melilla were vital port cities,
offering protection for Spanish ships and acting as trading posts
between Europe and Africa. In the 1930s, Spanish troops
garrisoned in the two cities played a major role in future dictator
Francisco Franco’s uprising
against their government.

When Morocco gained independence  in 1956, following
more than four decades of rule by Spain and France, Spain
refused to include Ceuta and Melilla in the handover.

Sovereignty issues

Madrid asserts that both territories are integral parts of Spain
and have the same status as the semi-autonomous districts on its
mainland, such as the Basque and Catalan regions.

However, Morocco has made numerous claims to the territories
since gaining independence. In 2002, the dispute turned violent
after a small group of Moroccan soldiers set up camp on the
Spanish-controlled Parsley Island, 200 metres off the coast of
mainland Morocco. They were forcefully removed by the Spanish navy,
in a clash that heightened tensions between the two countries.

Spanish King Juan Carlos angered Moroccans by visiting Melilla
in 2007. The infuriated then-Moroccan prime minister Abbas El Fassi
said: “We would like to remind everyone that the two cities form an
integral part of Moroccan soil and their return to their homeland
will be sought through direct negotiations with our neighbour
Spain.”

Morocco’s King Mohammad VI even briefly recalled his ambassador
to Madrid in protest over the Spanish king’s visit to the “occupied
territories”, the Daily Express adds.

Barbed wire

The controversial razor wire fences surround the entirety of
both enclaves. They were first introduced in 2005, but were removed
two years later after an outcry over the wounds sustained by people
trying to climb them, the BBC says.

However, in 2013, Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy –
who quit earlier this month – “revived the wire after waves of
migrants tried to breach the country’s border, a move branded
inhumane by political opponents, activists, and senior Catholic
bishops”.

In Ceuta alone, 25 migrants have been treated for cuts sustained
on the barbed wire so far this year. Ten of them required hospital
treatment, according to the Spanish Red Cross.

“We
can act before, at the point of origin, but we cannot let it get to
that point,” said Grande-Marlaska this week. “It is not reasonable
or acceptable to see people jumping over the fence.”