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Around 2,000 migrants try to cross border separating Spain's Melilla enclave from Morocco; 18 die in border raid

Omar Naji of Moroccan rights group AMDH told news agency AFP that security forces and migrants "clashed" on the Moroccan side of the border on Thursday night. A number of migrants were hospitalised in Nador, he said.

TN World Desk

Updated Jun 25, 2022, 04:35 IST

Migrants climb the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain

Photo : AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Last year, Spain permitted Brahim Ghali, the leader of Western Sahara's pro-independence Polisario Front, to receive treatment for COVID-19 in a Spanish hospital
This led to a serious diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco
In March this year, Spain backed Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, ending a year-long diplomatic crisis and reverting to its decades-old neutral stance

Madrid: An estimated 18 African migrants have died after attempting to cross from Morocco into Spain's Melilla enclave, according to Moroccan authorities.

"Thirteen illegal migrants injured during the assault on the town of Melilla died in the evening from their serious injuries," said the authorities in Nador province in a statement.

Earlier, the authorities reported that five migrants were killed and 76 injured, 13 of them seriously, while 140 police officers were injured, five of them critically.

The Spanish government's local delegation said that approximately 2,000 migrants approached Melilla at dawn and over 500 broke through a fence with shears to enter a border control area.

Late Friday, Moroccan officials announced the deaths of 13 more migrants, in addition to five who died earlier that day.

"Some fell from the top of the barrier" that separated the two sides, said a Moroccan official, adding 140 security personnel and 76 migrants suffered injuries.

The mass incursion was the first of its kind since Spain and Morocco restored diplomatic relations last month.

According to the local delegation of the Spanish government, 49 Spanish police officers were injured. In an earlier statement, it had said that Morocco's forces "cooperated actively" with Spain's security forces.

The Spanish media reported images of migrants lying on the pavement in Melilla, some with torn clothing and bloodied hands.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, while speaking in Brussels, condemned the "violent assault" and pointed the finger at "mafias who traffic in human beings".

Spain's two tiny North African enclaves, Melilla and Ceuta, have the EU's only land borders with Africa, which makes them an attractive destination for migrants.

By supporting Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara in March this year, Spain ended a year-long diplomatic crisis and reverted to its decades-old neutral stance.

As Sanchez visited Rabat, the two governments acknowledged a "new stage" in their relationship.

In April 2021, Spain permitted Brahim Ghali, the leader of Western Sahara's pro-independence Polisario Front, to receive treatment for COVID-19 in a Spanish hospital. This provoked a serious diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco.

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