A new report released by the International NGO says the death of over 20 migrants on the Spain-Morocco border in June, were crime under international law
Amnesty International has announced that both Morocco and Spain have failed to investigate the death of over 20 migrants in June on the border of the two countries.
The NGO released a new report on Tuesday, December 13, according to an article by Associated Press. The new report comes after almost six months since the incident took place at the border of the Spanish city of Melilla in northwest Africa.
Amnesty states in the report that the death of the migrants could have been avoided, as the events were predictable. “We are talking, not only of (mass) killings but also governments attempting to cover the killings”, said General Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International Secretary, the article stated.
On June 24, over 2,000 migrants ran towards a border fence between the two countries from the Moroccan side. A video published prior to the report after a joint investigation by NGO Lighthouse, Spain’s El País, and other media organizations showed hundreds of men climbing the border fence.
After crossing the fence, the men then started gathering outside the gates of the Spanish side and managed to break through, the report said. This resulted in a stampede that led to a lot of people getting crushed. The report said, the Moroccan police launched tear gas shells and also beat the men with batons. Meanwhile, the guards on the Spanish side managed to gather the men and sent them back.
Once the clashes ended several injured and even dead men were piled on top of one another as the Moroccan police charged in riot gear, the report said, adding most the men were refugees from Sudan.
Amnesty claims in the report that all the events happened on European soil, while Spain continues to state that no loss of life happened in its territory. Morocco meanwhile has also been silent on this issue.
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