Madrid: Spain’s prime minister is defending the way Moroccan and Spanish police pushed migrants out last week as they tried to cross the shared border into the North African enclave of Melilla, killing at least 23 people. Attack on the borders of Spain”. ,
“We must remember that many of these migrants attacked Spain’s borders with axes and thorns,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said during an interview with The Associated Press. “We are talking about an attempt to attack the fence that was clearly done aggressively, and therefore the Spanish State Security Forces and the Moroccan Guards guarding the borders of Spain.”
Moroccan authorities have attributed the deaths to a “stampede” of people that formed early on Friday, as hundreds attempted to break through or break a 12-metre (29-ft) iron double fence.
The barrier surrounds Melilla, a city of 85,000 separated from the Spanish mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Non-profit organizations and human rights organizations operating in North Africa have condemned the treatment of migrants by police on both sides. But he has also placed his blame on Spanish and EU officials, whom he says have essentially outsourced border controls to Morocco and other states.
Sánchez, whose left-of-centre government is trying to repair ties with Morocco after an acrimonious diplomatic dispute over Western Sahara, has declined to criticize the action.
Speaking at the palace on the outskirts of Madrid, which hosts his office and residence, Sanchez told the AP that his thoughts were with the families of those who died. But he attributed the tragedy to “rings of international human trafficking, who are profiting from the suffering of human beings who only want to seek a better life.”
“I emphasize, these are international mafia groups that are harming not only the territorial integrity of Spain, but also Morocco, a country plagued by irregular migration.”
Sanchez spoke to the AP on the eve of hosting NATO leaders at a summit aimed at redrawing the defense alliance’s strategy for the next decade. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will take center stage at Wednesday and Thursday’s meeting, the group will also debate its currency on Africa, where Russian mercenaries are compounding concerns about migration, extremism and poverty and the effects of climate change. .
Footage uploaded on social media shows how a large number of migrants approached a section of the fence and started mounting it. Some migrants threw stones at Moroccan anti-riot police in an attempt to stop them. At one point, the fence collapses, sending many migrants to the ground from a height of several meters.
In at least one video released by the Spanish online news website eldiario.es, Spanish guards can also be seen driving migrants back to Morocco, a practice that human rights activists say has led to the death of refugees on European soil. Denies the right to apply for asylum.
More gruesome videos and photos posted online show the result of the crossing attempt, with several young men, some of them motionless and others barely moving and bleeding as Moroccan security forces stand over them.
At least 76 civilians and 140 security officers from the Moroccan side, and 60 National Police and Civil Guard officers from the Spanish side were injured, according to their respective governments. After a small group of African men made it across the fence, they were taken to an expatriate holding center in Melilla.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the African Union, the continent’s largest group of countries, has called for an inquiry into the deaths. In a tweet, Mahamat said he would like to “express his deep shock and concern at the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants,” adding that all countries “have an obligation under international law to treat all migrants with respect.” and give priority to their safety and human rights while refraining from the use of excessive force.”
While Moroccan officials say 23 people died in addition to scores of injuries between both migrants and border guards, activists claim the death toll is higher and other states such as Morocco and Turkey are trying to control the migration flow. Condemn the EU’s policy of striking deals with.
A group of 51 human rights groups said in a joint statement distributed by Spanish NGO Walking Borders on Monday that the deaths “are a sad example of the EU’s policies of externalizing its borders in collusion with the southern country of Morocco.”
“The deaths of these young Africans at the borders of ‘Fortress Europe’ are a reminder of the deadly nature of the security cooperation on immigration between Morocco and Spain,” the statement said.
Spanish officials in Melilla, meanwhile, are using a recent attempt by migrants to cross in large numbers to appeal for even greater guarantees on their territorial security. Last year, when relations between Spain and Morocco soured, Moroccan border guards allowed thousands of people to cross over the city of Ceuta, Spain’s other enclave in Africa, in a matter of hours.
Since then, the Spanish media has been full of debate about whether NATO would help Spain if Melilla and Ceuta’s hold were ever in danger.
Melilla chief Eduardo de Castro said on Monday: “Melilla is the southern border of Europe, and therefore Europe should look to the south.”