Several sub-Saharan Africans have died after thousands of migrants tried to scale a border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave Melilla. The Moroccan authorities say 23 people died and 140 police were injured during the attempt, while several NGOs say the number of dead is 37.
More than 2,000 people stormed the area on Friday, with around 500 managing to get into a border control area after an iron fence was cut with shears.
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At least 37 migrants were killed and 150 more were injured when thousands tried to cross the Moroccan border into Melilla. According to the UNHCR, many came from Chad, Niger, Sudan, and South Sudan, and would be considered potential asylum seekers according to international law.
The precise cause of the deaths remains unclear. Some migrants may have died from suffocation or crushing because of a stampede provoked by Moroccan police charges. Other deaths may have occurred when some fell from the top of the fence: at the place on the border where the massacre took place, the border fence rises to between 6 and 10 meters in height. Others may have been directly killed by police who hit them with stones and batons.
Footage released by Al Jazeera showed dozens of people lying by the border fence, some bleeding and many apparently lifeless as Moroccan security forces stood over them. In one clip, a Moroccan security officer appeared to strike a person lying on the ground with a baton.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) said many of those wounded “were left there without help for hours, which increased the number of deaths.” Helena Maleno, the founder of the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, declared: “The victims of the Melilla tragedy agonized for hours under the cruel gaze of those who were supposed to help them and did not…”
There are growing calls for investigations into the deaths.
“I call for an immediate investigation into the matter and remind all countries of their obligations under international law to treat all migrants with dignity and to prioritize their safety and human rights while refraining from the use of excessive force,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the African Union Commission.