MADRID, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Civil Guards confirmed on Tuesday that they have detained ten sub-Saharan migrants for organizing one of the biggest ever assaults on the border fence separating the Spanish north-African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.
The ten men arrested have been charged with belonging to a criminal organization, provoking criminal damage and attacking police officers. Spanish media reported that one of the detainees tried to attack the officers who had been sent to arrest him at Ceuta's temporary immigrant residency (CETI).
The July 26 assault on the frontier saw over 600 migrants force their way into what is effectively the EU territory, while leaving 22 police officers needing medical treatment for injuries, including burns and breathing problems, after migrants threw quicklime at them in what was described at the time as an "unusual level of violence."
The July attack on the fence separating Ceuta from Morocco saw migrants cut through the double six-meter fence, which is covered in razor wire, with a radial saw. As well as quicklime, police officers also had feces, battery acid and stones thrown at them.
A similar incident on Aug. 23 saw a further 116 migrants force their way into Ceuta injuring a further seven police officers and the Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez took the decision to immediately deport them to Morocco.
According to figures published by the International Organization for Migration, 22,711 migrants reached Spain in the first seven months of 2018, with 19,586 arriving by sea and over half of those arriving in June and July. With an average of over 200 people per day currently making the journey, those numbers have swelled further in August.
