Spain’s attorney general to probe migrant deaths on Morocco border
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spain’s top prosecutor will open an investigation into the deaths of migrants trying to cross the border from Morocco to Spain.
Moroccan officials say 23 people died in the violent incident, while several NGOs say the true death toll is 37.
Although Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez applauded the actions of Moroccan and Spanish authorities at the border, the Spanish Attorney General explained in a statement on Tuesday that the decision to investigate is based on “the transcendence and seriousness of what occurred, which could have affected human rights.”
The announcement came hours after the UN Committee on Migrant Workers called for Spanish and Moroccan officials to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the deaths.
The deaths occurred after around 2,000 migrants tried to cross the border into Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla on Friday.
Politicians from Colombia and Algeria have called what occurred “a massacre.”
According to the Spanish refugee agency CEAR, many of the migrants were from Chad and Sudan, meaning they had high chances of obtaining international protection if they had reached Spain.
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