18 dead and 63 injured in avalanche caused by migrants trying to cross into Spain

First modification: 06/25/2022 – 03:49

At least 18 deaths were the balance of an avalanche in an attempt to enter Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city located in the north of the African continent. The victims were crushed or suffocated, while others lost their lives falling from the border fence.

In the attempt, which began in the morning hours of this Friday, they managed to cross at least 133 people. Previously, the Spanish authorities had been notified, so some 1,500 Moroccan agents were deployed, who initially dispersed the crowd.

Despite efforts to disperse the crowd, some 500 migrants managed to reach the fence.

Moroccan authorities stressed that “Rabat’s collaboration is total” and that they will accept all the people returned by the Spanish authorities.

Most of the people who tried to reach Spanish territory were of sub-Saharan origin.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights in the province of Nador denounced the “inhumane” way in which the migrants were detained.

This is the first event of its kind since the Spanish government opted for Morocco’s proposal for autonomy for the disputed Saharawi territory, contrary to the self-determination aspirations of the Polisario Front, which dominates the area. That milestone – that Spain positioned itself on the Moroccan side – represented a historic turn in the foreign policy of the Executive of the Mediterranean country.

The echoes of the event reached Congress, where the bench of the conservative Popular Party registered an initiative for the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to appear and explain “the arrival of a thousand migrants in a violent and organized manner.”

This is the largest recorded entry attempt since last March, when nearly 900 people managed to enter Melilla in two days. Madrid interpreted it as a local threat, in the context of the impasse of the crisis between Spain and Morocco, overcome thanks to the change of position of the Government of Pedro Sánchez regarding the autonomy of Western Sahara.

a constant situation

Located in North Africa, the Melilla border is one of the delimitations between that continent and Europe.

Until 2004, most entry attempts were made in small groups or individually. The first massive entry occurred in August of that year. The attempt occurred in a coordinated and simultaneous manner, with the aim of overtaking the Spanish law enforcement.

Seeing that assaulting the border in this way gave more results, this type of strategy became recurrent.

In 2005, the government of progressive José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero installed razor-wire fences, which were removed in 2007 and reinserted under the administration of right-wing Mariano Rajoy six years later.

The current Administration withdrew them again, a commitment that, according to the local press, the head of the Interior portfolio, Grande-Marlaska, had been delaying.

Since the 2020 border closure, the alert for irregular crossings has been a constant in the area. Moroccans gain access almost weekly, crossing the fence in numerous groups of people, although the numbers are lower than those recorded before the start of the second decade of the 2000s.

Condemnation and concern for human rights

Organizations such as Amnesty International (IA) expressed their concern about what happened at the border.

In a statement, IA argues that it received information indicating that the Spanish authorities have carried out hot returns. “These practices,” they stressed, “are prohibited under international law,” since “they prevent possible refugees from formulating requests for international protection, and also prevent the detection of people in a situation of vulnerability.”

Later the organization stated that “although the migrants may have acted with violence in their attempt to enter Melilla, not everything goes in border control”.

According to AI, the human rights of migrants and refugees must be respected, calling for a situation like today’s not to be repeated.

With EFE and local media