Save the Children urges Spain to open border to refugees

 

The charity "Save the Children" has urged Spain to open its border to allow hundreds of Syrian refugees to reach the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

According to a statement issued by "Save the Children" on Wednesday, Melilla is the destination for "a thousand Syrians who have fled war. Most of them are children and they are trapped in the Moroccan cities of Nador and Beni Anzar waiting for the Moroccan police to let them enter Melilla."

The charity added that "the children have been exposed to suffering, hunger and violence."

Melilla is a Spanish territory with a population of around 84,000 on the north coast of Africa, which has become a destination for thousands of refugees, the majority of them from sub-Saharan Africa, who are camped in the hills around the city, hoping for a chance to scale its six-meter high frontier fence and thus gain passage to northern Europe through Spain.

"Save the Children" highlights that the Syrian refugees have travelled to its borders through Turkey, Algeria and Morocco, while the actions of the Moroccan police have led to families being split up.

"It is unacceptable that situations such as this are happening on the borders of Europe," said "Save the Children"'s Director for Spain, Andres Conde.

Spain said it would accept 2,749 refugees in July and agreed to take a further 14,931 last week as the European Union looks to house the tens of thousands of refugees who are currently entering Europe through Turkey and Greece.

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