Videos of Massacre of Migrants by Morocco Cause Uproar While Spain Government Commends Rabat for 'Cooperation'

On Friday, June 24, President Pedro Sánchez of Spain commended the government of Morocco for its “extraordinary cooperation” during an attempted mass migrant insertion through the border fence in the Spanish enclave of Melilla. The events occurred on Friday in the Moroccan province of Nador, amid denunciations by human rights organizations of the brutal treatment of migrants.

“On behalf of the Government of Spain, I would like to thank the Kingdom of Morocco for its extraordinary cooperation,” Sánchez told reporters. “This demonstrates the importance of having great bilateral relations and a close collaboration also in internal affairs, in the fight against illegal immigration in cases such as the one we, unfortunately, suffered today in the Autonomous City of Melilla.”

Asimismo denunciamos las graves palabras de @sanchezcastejon agradeciendo a Marruecos el operativo de ayer.
De momento, 18 personas muertas pero la cifra podría seguir subiendo. Exigimos una reacción a la altura de las circunstancias @desdelamoncloa @interiorgob @Yolanda_Diaz_ pic.twitter.com/wEFwSmT2v0
— IRÍDIA (@centre_IRIDIA) June 25, 2022

Sánchez’s speech was harshly criticized by organizations like the Center for the Defense of Human Rights (Irídia), which considered Sánchez’s words as “a cause for concern.”

According to the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), 27 people died during the incident, including two border guards. AMDH warned that the toll could rise in the coming hours and warned of a possibility of rapid burials being carried out before an investigation into the events is opened.

Human rights defender Helena Maleno Garzón form the NGO Caminando Fronteras raised the death toll to 37. “The victims of the Melilla tragedy agonized for hours under the cruel gaze of those who should have helped them and did not do so,” stated Maleno Garzón.

🔴Confirmamos treinta y siete víctimas en la tragedia de Melilla. Las cifras no son definitivas pueden seguir aumentando #DEP.
— Helena Maleno Garzón (@HelenaMaleno) June 25, 2022

https://twitter.com/NadorAmdh/status/1540589250143461377

ADMH denounced the brutal treatment received by the migrants trying to breach the border fence. “The pallets and floors are stained with blood of the migrants,” it reported. “The morgue is full… [The migrants] were left unaided in place for hours, which increased the death toll.”

ADHM described the incident as a “real disaster that has made clear what the initial consequences of the latest agreements” between Spain and Morocco entail. Journalist Rosa Moro, who specializes in Africa, also pointed out that Western countries are hypocritical when it comes to the human rights of migrants.

Cruel treatment
Shocking videos and images are circulating on social media, which testify to the brutal suffering of the migrants who attempted to cross into Melilla. On Saturday, June 25, Irídia released a video showing how Moroccan agents beat immigrants near the barrier, while dozens of bodies lie on the ground.

https://twitter.com/centre_IRIDIA/status/1540602604765560833

The videos shows that, although the migrants were already lying on the ground and no longer offered resistance to the border guards, they continued to receive blows from the uniformed men.

“This is cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, piling up injured people in a total contempt for life and an omission of the duty to provide medical assistance,” stated Irídia, and demanded an investigation by Spain and Morocco, as well as the intervention of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).

https://twitter.com/NadorAmdh/status/1540589250143461377

Moroccan security sources reported that on Saturday, a group of migrants armed with homemade knives, sticks, hammers, stones and climbing hooks violently vandalized the Melilla fence and threw some acid at border agents.

(RT)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/GMS/SC