At Least 23 Migrants Dead, Dozens More Injured After Violent Stampede at Moroccan–Spanish Border

African migrants attempt to scale the fence at the border between Morocco and the North African Spanish enclave of Melilla, on April 3, 2014. Alexander Koerner/Getty Images

At least 23 migrants have died and dozens more have been injured after attempting to cross into Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla on June 24, according to officials.

African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has called for an “immediate investigation” into the incident, which began when hundreds of migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, began storming the border from Morocco at about 6:40 a.m. local time into Melilla.

Thousands more tried to climb the iron fence between Morocco and Melilla, according to officials, leading to violent clashes between the migrants, Moroccan police, and Spanish security forces.

Melilla has in recent years become a hot spot for prominently sub-Saharan migrants attempting to reach Europe.

“I express my deep shock and concern at the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants attempting to cross an international border from Morocco into Spain, with the ensuing violence leading to the deaths of at least 23 people and injuries to many more,” Mahamat said on Twitter late on June 26.

“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,” he added.

The precise causes of death have not yet been confirmed but officials have cited a “stampede” by the roughly 2,000 migrants, along with multiple individuals falling while attempting to climb the iron fence.

‘Extensive Operation’

“A large group of sub-Saharans ... broke through the access gate of the Barrio Chino border checkpoint and entered Melilla by jumping over the roof of the checkpoint,” the Spanish government’s representative authority there said in a statement.

The storming of the border came “despite an extensive operation by Moroccan forces,” the statement added.

While officials have said 23 people were killed in the incident, a number of reports have put the death toll at 37, including a report by EuroMed Rights, formerly the Euro–Mediterranean Human Rights Network.

Images posted online by EuroMed Rights show dozens of migrants, many of whom are covered in what appears to be blood, lying motionless on the ground while security forces surround them. Some of the migrants can be seen sitting up but appear to have sustained injuries.

The Epoch Times has not been able to verify the images.

One unnamed man who had attempted to cross the border told Spanish newspaper El Pais: “The Moroccan agents were very violent, more aggressive than other times, and people panicked. That’s what provoked the stampede.”

Helena Maleno Garzon, the founder of Walking Borders, which supports the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, wrote on Twitter that the victims of the tragedy had “agonized for hours under the cruel gaze of those who were supposed to help them and did not do so.”

In a statement on June 24, Morocco’s Interior Ministry said 76 civilians were injured along with 140 Moroccan security officers.

Resuming Diplomatic Relations

The latest incident marks the first such border crossing attempt since Spain and Morocco resumed diplomatic ties in March, after Spain supported Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1976.

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on June 25 blamed “human trafficking mafias” for what he described as “a well-organized, violent assault,” while praising the authorities for their response.

“If there is anyone responsible for everything that appears to have taken place at that border, it is the mafias that traffic in human beings,” Sanchez told journalists in Madrid.

A spokesperson for the Spanish government’s office in Melilla told local news outlets that a total of 133 migrants made it across the border.

Esteban Beltrán, head of Amnesty International in Spain, called on authorities in Spain and Morocco to “promptly investigate the serious abuses committed on both sides of the border” while noting in a Twitter post that migrants, regardless of their origin, have the right to seek protection without facing discrimination.

Reuters contributed to this report.