Migrants keep trying to storm the border fence between Morocco and the Spanish North African exclave of Melilla. Now there were many dead and injured.
At least 18 migrants have died as up to 2,000 people rushed to the border fence. This was reported by the Spanish newspapers “El País” and “La Vanguardia”. Five deaths had previously been reported.
According to the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, people died in the crowd or by falling in front of the fence.
In addition, another 63 migrants and around 140 Moroccan police officers were injured. The Moroccan Interior Ministry accused the migrants of using violence.
Many of the people arrested by Moroccan authorities are said to be of Sudanese nationality. They had come from the surrounding forests, where they had been gathering for the past few days, to then try to reach the Spanish city in North Africa together.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke of a “well-organised, violent” attack and blamed the “people smuggling mafia”.
Two men who have climbed the border fencePhoto: Antonio Ruiz/dpa
133 migrants managed to get over the two parallel six-meter-high fences. Video images on the Internet showed how the mostly young men ran through the streets of Melilla, beaming with joy, singing and dancing. They were taken to an emergency center.
Morocco became independent from France and Spain in 1956. Nevertheless, Spain continues to hold two exclaves there: Melilla and Ceuta, 250 kilometers further west on the Strait of Gibraltar. Both are claimed by Rabat.
In the vicinity of the two areas, often tens of thousands of Africans, mainly from sub-Saharan countries, are waiting for a chance to enter the EU. Usually several hundred people try to surprise the border officials and get across the border.