Madrid: Madrid will offer “total cooperation” with Spanish and Moroccan investigations into the deaths of 23 migrants during a mass attempt to enter SpainMelilla Enclave, Pedros Sanchez said Wednesday.
This statement of the Prime Minister of Spain came a day after that United Nations Condemned the authorities for using “excessive force” on the border between Morocco and Spain, describing it as “unacceptable”.
The tragedy occurred on Friday morning, when about 2,000 migrants, mostly sub-Saharan . were from AfricaSpain tried to break through the fence from Morocco in Melilla, one of the two smaller North African enclaves.
“I regret the loss of human lives and express my solidarity with the families of the slain migrants, their government will work with investigators to understand what happened,” Sanchez told Cadena Ser radio.
Sanchez insisted that three investigations have been opened, one by Moroccan prosecutors, one by Spain’s public prosecutor and the third by the Spanish Rights Ombudsman.
“We have to trust these institutions and I pledge the total cooperation of the government with their efforts to explain what happened,” he said.
Moroccan officials said some victims had fallen while trying to scramble over a fence, killing 18 people in the initial, but this was later increased to 23, when another five migrants died.
Few details were available about the incident, but Spanish media showed footage of people on the ground, some with bloodied hands and torn clothes.
The death toll was by far the worst recorded in years of attempts by migrants to cross into Spain’s Ceuta and Melilla enclaves, which have the EU’s only land borders with Africa, allowing them to escape poverty and hunger. Makes a magnet for desperate people.
A defense lawyer in Rabat said that in Morocco, prosecutors are leveling charges against 65 migrants, mostly Sudanese, for trying to attack the border.
Spain’s public prosecutor opened its investigation on Tuesday “to clarify what happened”, citing the “seriousness and gravity” of the incident.
‘Excessive force’ – Images of violence provoked an unusually strong reaction from the United Nations, which struck border officials.
“We have seen excessive use of force by the authorities, which must be investigated because it is unacceptable,” the UN secretary-general said. Antonio Guterresspokesperson of Stephen Dujarric on Tuesday.
“Those who are moving forward have human rights and should be respected and we are insulting them all too often. We have seen it on both sides of the border,” he said.
Sanchez on Friday blamed “human trafficking mafia” for “a well-organized violent attack” and defended the action of the border police, saying the incident was “well handled by the security forces of both Spain and Morocco”. went”. ,
Asked about his initial defense of the actions of security forces, Sanchez said that when he spoke, he was “not aware of the reports and images” of the victims.
And on Wednesday he reiterated concern for border security agents, giving figures on the 40 wounded Spanish police and 100 on the Moroccan side.
“I also ask that we put ourselves in the shoes of the wounded police and security forces in both Morocco and Ceuta and Melilla, who have the right to an orderly flow of migrants and are not at the mercy of violent attacks,” he said. . Told.
This statement of the Prime Minister of Spain came a day after that United Nations Condemned the authorities for using “excessive force” on the border between Morocco and Spain, describing it as “unacceptable”.
The tragedy occurred on Friday morning, when about 2,000 migrants, mostly sub-Saharan . were from AfricaSpain tried to break through the fence from Morocco in Melilla, one of the two smaller North African enclaves.
“I regret the loss of human lives and express my solidarity with the families of the slain migrants, their government will work with investigators to understand what happened,” Sanchez told Cadena Ser radio.
Sanchez insisted that three investigations have been opened, one by Moroccan prosecutors, one by Spain’s public prosecutor and the third by the Spanish Rights Ombudsman.
“We have to trust these institutions and I pledge the total cooperation of the government with their efforts to explain what happened,” he said.
Moroccan officials said some victims had fallen while trying to scramble over a fence, killing 18 people in the initial, but this was later increased to 23, when another five migrants died.
Few details were available about the incident, but Spanish media showed footage of people on the ground, some with bloodied hands and torn clothes.
The death toll was by far the worst recorded in years of attempts by migrants to cross into Spain’s Ceuta and Melilla enclaves, which have the EU’s only land borders with Africa, allowing them to escape poverty and hunger. Makes a magnet for desperate people.
A defense lawyer in Rabat said that in Morocco, prosecutors are leveling charges against 65 migrants, mostly Sudanese, for trying to attack the border.
Spain’s public prosecutor opened its investigation on Tuesday “to clarify what happened”, citing the “seriousness and gravity” of the incident.
‘Excessive force’ – Images of violence provoked an unusually strong reaction from the United Nations, which struck border officials.
“We have seen excessive use of force by the authorities, which must be investigated because it is unacceptable,” the UN secretary-general said. Antonio Guterresspokesperson of Stephen Dujarric on Tuesday.
“Those who are moving forward have human rights and should be respected and we are insulting them all too often. We have seen it on both sides of the border,” he said.
Sanchez on Friday blamed “human trafficking mafia” for “a well-organized violent attack” and defended the action of the border police, saying the incident was “well handled by the security forces of both Spain and Morocco”. went”. ,
Asked about his initial defense of the actions of security forces, Sanchez said that when he spoke, he was “not aware of the reports and images” of the victims.
And on Wednesday he reiterated concern for border security agents, giving figures on the 40 wounded Spanish police and 100 on the Moroccan side.
“I also ask that we put ourselves in the shoes of the wounded police and security forces in both Morocco and Ceuta and Melilla, who have the right to an orderly flow of migrants and are not at the mercy of violent attacks,” he said. . Told.