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Spain: far-right leader calls for troop deployment in enclaves in Morocco

March 4, 2022 at 12:30 pm

The president of Vox party, Santiago Abascal, addresses the media following talks during the “Defend Europe” summit, on 29 January 2022 in Madrid, Spain. [Isabel Infantes/Getty Images]

The leader of Spain’s far-right Vox Party, Santiago Abascal, demanded on Wednesday that his country should deploy troops in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla to protect Spanish borders and citizens. Ceuta and Melilla are autonomous Spanish enclaves on the north Moroccan coast.

“During your address, the fence of the city of Melilla has been attacked by 2,000 illegal immigrants,” Abascal told Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. “Perhaps because in Morocco there is another satrap like Putin who has recognised once again the weakness of our government and our institutions.”

Abascal criticised what he called the failure of the Spanish government and other groups in the House of Representatives to address the attacks that took place in Melilla. “This is an appropriate opportunity to correct your positions by working to include the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, explicitly, in the NATO treaty to ensure their protection from the danger posed by Morocco,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, about 2,500 migrants tried to cross the high fence into Melilla. According to local administrators, around 500 of them succeeded.

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