iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
We are ready to offer our partners the most advanced types of weapons: Putin
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Morocco: 5 migrants dead in stampede in bid to enter Spain
About 130 migrants breached the border between Morocco and Melilla and the asualties occurred when people tried to climb the iron fence
Riot police officers cordon off the area after migrants arrive on Spanish soil and crossing the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla. — AP
Moroccan authorities said that five migrants were killed and scores of migrants and police officers were injured in a “stampede” of people trying to cross into the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla on Friday.
About 130 migrants breached the border between Morocco and Melilla on Friday, the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. A spokesperson for the Spanish government’s office in Melilla said about 2,000 people attempted to enter the North African city.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the casualties occurred when people tried to climb the iron fence. It said five migrants were killed and 76 injured, and 140 Moroccan security officers were injured.
ALSO READ:
Those who succeeded in crossing went to a local migrant centre, where authorities were evaluating their circumstances.
People fleeing poverty and violence sometimes make mass attempts to reach Melilla and the other Spanish territory on the North African coast, Ceuta, as a springboard to continental Europe.
Spain normally relies on Morocco to keep migrants away from the border.
Over two days at the beginning of March, more than 3,500 people tried to scale the 6-metre barrier that surrounds Melilla and nearly 1,000 made it across, according to Spanish authorities.
Friday’s crossings were the first attempt since relations between Spain and Morocco improved in March after a year-long dispute centred on the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1976.
Morocco loosened its controls around Ceuta last year, allowing thousands of migrants to cross into Spain. The move was viewed as retaliation for Spain’s decision to allow the leader of Western Sahara’s pro-independence movement to be treated for Covid-19 at a Spanish hospital.
Tensions between the two countries began to thaw earlier this year after Spain backed Morocco’s plan to grant more autonomy to Western Sahara, where activists are seeking full independence.
More news from World
Opposition accuses outgoing PM of having 'one big party' as several struggle with surging costs of living
In some cases, Morrison made himself a co-minister without telling the cabinet members he had already appointed to those positions
Matar, who was charged with the attempted murder of the author, has pleaded not guilty
US president says his country's Indian-American community made it a more innovative, inclusive and stronger nation
New Delhi is keeping its distance from the principles of Cold War 2.0 and seeking advantage from diverse relationships
His continued presence in the House of Commons on the backbenches will be closely watched, so will his interventions when the next prime minister takes over
Even if oil windfalls do not repeat themselves regularly, the region can at least employ a buffer to bail its people out battling inflationary pressures