Death of migrants in Melilla: Spanish government under pressure

of the executive allies ask for a commission of inquiry on the stampede which cost the lives of at least 23 migrants on June 24.

by Sandrine Morel (Madrid , correspondent)

More than four months after the drama occurred on June 24, during an attempt to pass nearly 1,500 sub -Saharan migrants from the Moroccan city of Nador to the Spanish enclave in Melilla, the controversy on the Responsibility of Spain in the death of at least twenty-three of them does not decrease. On the contrary, it has even increased in recent days, following the broadcast, the 1 er November, of a BBC overwhelming documentary . Titled how Spain has let dozens of people die on its border and based on numerous testimonies and on videos, it contradicts the version given until then by the Spanish government, according to which there were no deaths of the Spanish side.

If it is the agents of the Moroccan gendarmerie who appear bathe in hand, hitting men on the ground and walking between the extended bodies of wounded migrants, or dead, Spain would have failed in his duty to wear Rescue for people in danger, gathered against the building, closed, customs. Worse, bodies on its territory have been transferred from the Moroccan side.

In response to the dissemination of this documentary, nine political parties asked Parliament the constitution of a commission of inquiry to shed light on the facts. Among them, Unidas Podemos, member of the left -wing coalition in power, as well as most political parties supporting the government, such as the Catalan (ERC), Basque (EH Bildu) and Galician (BNG). >

Spanish control space

Monday, November 7, six deputies visited the border post of Barrio Chino, where the drama took place, watched a selection of videos extracted from surveillance cameras and obtained detailed information from the operation carried out by the Civil Guard. She notably admitted to having drawn 86 tear gas grenades, 65 rubber bullets, as well as 270 white ammunition, in order to retreat the hundreds of migrants massed against the gates of access to Spanish customs, in a narrow territory which separates the Two Spanish and Moroccan border lines. Considered as a “joint operation zone” by the Spanish Interior Ministry, this space would be placed under Spanish control, would have recognized the civil guard.

“There is no doubt that the jostling that caused the most serious dead and injured took place in an area under the control of the Spanish authority,” said Santiago, deputy for Tuesday, ‘Unidas Podemos and former Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda of the Left Coalition Government, the day after the parliamentary visit organized in Melilla, in which he participated. According to Morocco, asphyxiation was the main cause of migrant mortality. “The need for a commission of inquiry is obvious,” added Mr. Santiago, notably stressing the importance of “determining why there were no medical care during the next two or three hours, during which he would have been possible to save lives “.

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/Media reports.