NGOs blame Spain and Morocco for Melilla border deaths

A new investigation by the Spanish human rights group Iridia, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), and Border Forensics points to the responsibility of Spain and Morocco for the Melilla tragedy of June 24, 2022. On that day, more than 23 migrants died while trying to enter the city of Melilla.

The report, published on the second anniversary of the event, claims dozens of deaths resulted from an aggressive border security policy.

The investigation focuses on «how and who turned the border post into a death trap». Satellite analysis suggests Moroccan security forces deployed near migrant camps and the border, leaving only one escape route for hundreds. «They deliberately allowed migrants to approach, then met them with repression», the groups allege.

Dozens of survivors reported forced relocation to Mount Gourougou, 6 kilometers from the border, after alleged attacks by Moroccan security forces in the preceding days. «The police started attacking us and throwing stones at us – they destroyed all our food and water – they did this so that we would leave», a survivor told the NGO.

A death trap

Satellite imagery analysis from June 16-23 shows increased troop presence and construction of an additional trench on the Moroccan side. A comparison reveals a proliferation of trucks, buses, tents, and military equipment.

«The police came from both sides in order to push us in the same direction», another survivor claimed. «We couldn’t go anywhere, except towards the fence. We all gathered at the fence and they started to throw teargas grenades at us».

The investigation mentions alleged pre-incident police raids on migrant camps, confiscating food and money, leaving people exhausted, hungry, and desperate.

The report includes testimonies alleging that the presence of informants who «encouraged migrants to head towards the fence without hooks (used in previous attempts) and try to cross through a specific point».

A Spanish Interior Ministry spokesperson stated prosecutors investigated the events and found no negligence or rights violations by Spanish guards. Morocco maintains that security forces acted professionally and that some migrants were armed.

The investigation concludes that the Melilla incident would represent a systemic approach by Europe, Spain, and Morocco. It criticizes what it described as a decades-long European migration control policies, Moroccan migration diplomacy, longstanding impunity for violence, and pervasive racial repression.

«These elements combined to form the death trap carried out by Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement», the report concludes. It calls for a fundamental reorientation of European migration policies and relations with the Global South, dismantling «relationships, agreements, and legislation«that contribute to such tragedies.

The three associations demand a new, independent investigation, compensation for survivors and families, and legal action against both Spain and Morocco. «The facts condemn both authorities», they state.