In a report based on eyewitness accounts, video footage, and satellite imagery, Amnesty International claimed that Moroccan and Spaish authorities used ‘:unlawful and lethal force’ during a mass border crossing by migrants in June that resulted in at least 23 fatalities. Their response ‘smacks of a cover-up,’ the organisation added.
The management of the massive border crossing attempt on June 24 between Morocco and Spain’s North African outpost of Melilla continues to cause the Spanish government serious political headaches. Both the U.N. human rights experts and Spain’s Ombudsman have harshly criticised it. The interior minister of the nation has endured a barrage of questions from lawmakers, who have also called for his resignation.
While Spanish authorities claim that no deaths took place on their soil, Morocco claims that 23 individuals perished in the incident. According to Amnesty, 77 individuals are still missing and at least 37 people killed.
According to the report, ‘several of the injured were still being kicked and battered as they lay on the ground, semi-conscious, unresponsive, or fighting for breath.’
It also criticised the lack of information on the missing people’s whereabouts and the identities of the deceased.
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