Both the UN and the President of the African Union are in shock after several people died and many were injured when they tried to enter Spain.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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On Twitter, Moussa Faki Mahmat, President of the African Union, writes that the deaths must be investigated.
– I’m in deep shock. And I am concerned about the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants trying to cross an international border from Morocco to Spain, and the ensuing violence that has led to the deaths of 23 people and more injured, he writes.
Recently, several refugees and migrants have tried to enter Spain through Melilla, which is a self-governing Spanish exclave. Exclave is a part of a state or similar that is separate from the main territory of the state and completely surrounded by the territory of one or more foreign states.
–Many respond to the violence
Last week, between 1,500 and 2,000 people tried to climb over the border fences between Morocco and Melilla. There was chaos in the area and Moroccan border guards used both tear gas and baton against the refugees and migrants, according to BBC.
While Moroccan authorities report that 23 migrants and refugees were killed, local NGOs have reported a higher death toll, and many are responding to videos on social media that show violence against the crowd, according to Aljazeera.
VG has not been able to verify the videos, but many react to these and the reports on the treatment of refugees and migrants. Among others, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.
– I am shocked by the violence on the Nador-Melilla border, which resulted in deaths. The use of excessive force is unacceptable, he writes on Twitter.
Now the UN is also asking that both the Spanish authorities and the Moroccan authorities investigate what has happened, they write in one press release.
–Spain launches investigation
In Spain, this has created a lot of frustration. Several were in the streets of Madrid last week to show opposition to the treatment of refugees and migrants. The Spanish Prime Minister believes that much of what has happened is the fault of cynical and criminal traffickers, but that he finds it sad that people have lost their lives.
“We apologize for the loss of human life, in this case desperate people who were looking for a better life and who are victims and tools for mafia and criminals who organize violent actions against our border,” he told a Spanish newspaper, according to BBC.
In the same interview, he says that he also thanks the Moroccan authorities for their work.
Moroccan authorities have said that many of those who died died because they fell from the fence, according to the news agency AFP.
On Tuesday, it became known that the Spanish public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the incident. The news came a few hours after the UN reacted to the reports on how people at the border should have been treated.
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