Perched on a narrow peninsula on the northern coast of Africa, Ceuta lies just 17 kilometres (11 miles) across the Strait of Gibraltar from mainland Spain. Although it shares an 8-kilometre land border with Morocco, the city has remained under Spanish rule for more than five centuries and is officially part of Spain and the European Union.

Los asaltos a la valla fronteriza de la ciudad con Marruecos se han repetido a lo largo del siglo, siempre al albur de las 'necesidades' de la política marroquí.

This weekend, thousands of Moroccans attempted to reach the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.