Briefing
Melilla, 13 October 2026 – The coronel-jefe of the Guardia Civil in Melilla, Jesús Rueda Jiménez, said on 13 October, on the occasion of the patron saint’s festival El Pilar that daily cooperation with Moroccan security forces was crucial to securing the border. In his address, Rueda referred to attempted mass border crossings on 30 July 2026 and 31 July 2026 and cited Guardia Civil figures of “more than 6,000 people” who had tried to cross from Morocco into Melilla on those days. This figure reflects the Guardia Civil’s account and has been assessed differently by other bodies.
Rueda explicitly thanked the Gendarmería Real Marroquí for its cooperation, noting that coordination “on both sides of the border” had played a major part in stopping attacks on the border perimeter. He also praised the Spanish units deployed in Melilla, including the Grupo de Reserva y Seguridad, the Policía Nacional and the Policía Local, and stressed the need to distinguish between police responses and the protection of vulnerable people.
Official figures for the number of people who actually remained in Melilla or were returned continue to differ: at the end of July, Melilla’s Government Delegate, Sabrina Moh, initially gave a figure of around 130 people, while later government statements referred to several hundred people affected. This discrepancy shows that a final assessment must be based on consolidated situation reports.
According to Rueda, the joint operation also made it possible to push back “more than a thousand people” and, in cooperation with the Moroccan authorities, facilitate their return. The coronel-jefe said that administrative and legal reviews of returns and operational planning were also under way. The address is part of a series of public statements in which security authorities in Melilla and Madrid have set out their accounts of the events since the summer.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).