Deaths occurred during attempted mass crossing into Spanish North African enclave by some 2,000 migrants, officials say. Moroccan authorities said that 18 migrants were killed and dozens of migrants and police officers were injured in a “stampede” of people trying to cross into the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla. Thirteen of the injured migrants later died in the hospital, raising the death toll to 18, according to Morocco’s official news agency MAP, which cited local authorities. The incident at the border crossing was the first since Morocco and Spain mended diplomatic ties in March. A month later, some 10,000 migrants surged across the Morocco border into Spain’s Ceuta enclave as Moroccan border guards looked the other way, in what was widely seen as a punitive gesture by Rabat.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 24, 2022 16:39 UTC