Spain denounces “the mafias” and “an attack” against its territory after the death of at least 18 migrants in the enclave

Spain retaliates. In the aftermath of the death of at least 18 migrants in Melilla, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, describes this tragedy as a “violent and organized assault (…) by mafias who traffic in human beings, against a city which is Spanish territory”. “Therefore, it was an attack on the territorial integrity of our country”, he said on Saturday June 25 during a press conference in Madrid. On Friday, nearly 2,000 African migrants tried to force their way into this Spanish enclave located in Moroccan territory.

This death toll of 18, which is only provisional, is the deadliest ever recorded during the numerous attempts by sub-Saharan migrants to enter Melilla and the other Spanish enclave of Ceuta, which constitute the only borders of the EU with the African continent.

For its part, the main Moroccan human rights organization asked on Saturday “the opening of a rapid and transparent investigation” on this “tragedy” unprecedented in Morocco, according to statements to AFP by Mohamed Amine Abidar, president of the section of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) in Nador (north of the country).