Spain says deadly migrant rush 'attack' on its territory

The Spanish prime minister on Saturday described a deadly migrant rush on the enclave of Melilla from Morocco as an attack on Spain's 'territorial integrity', as human rights activists demanded an investigation. At least 18 African migrants died in the latest drama on the doors of the European Union, when around 2,000 mostly sub-Saharan African migrants approached the Moroccan border with the tiny territory at dawn on Friday. More than 500 managed to enter a border control area after cutting a fence with shears, Melilla authorities said in a statement. Moroccan officials said 18 migrants had died during the rush or succumbed to their injuries, some of which came from falling from the top of the barrier. Authorities said that 33 migrants and two security force personnel remained in hospital but in 'stable condition' Saturday in the cities of Nador and nearby Oujda. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the incident was a 'violent and organised attack by mafias who traffic in human beings, against a Spanish territory'. But Morocco's AMDH human rights group said it was 'a true catastrophe that shows the consequences of the latest Moroccan-Spanish entente', just weeks after the two sides resolved a year-long diplomatic rift. The death toll, which could still rise, is by far the worst recorded in years of attempts by migrants to cross into Melilla, one of Spain's North Africa enclaves which have the EU's only land borders on the continent. Images on Spanish media on Friday showed exhausted migrants lying on the pavement in Melilla, some with bloodied hands and torn clothes. By Saturday, calm had returned to the border area, with Moroccan security forces lightly deployed and no migrants to be seen. Mohamed Amine Abidar of the AMDH said migrants, who are often rounded up by authorities and taken to cities further south, had 'probably moved away for fear of being displaced'. The AMDH demanded a 'comprehensive, quick and serious enquiry, while the Democratic Labour Organisation (ODT) trade union urged the Moroccan government 'to investigate this tragedy and do what is needed' both for migrants and police. In Spain, Sanchez's left-wing coalition partner Podemos also called for a probe. The mayor of Melilla, Eduardo de Castro, said the stampede had been 'violent' but called the Moroccan response 'disproportionate'.

Spain says deadly migrant rush 'attack' on its territory

The Spanish prime minister on Saturday described a deadly migrant rush on the enclave of Melilla from Morocco as an attack on Spain's "territorial integrity", as human rights activists demanded an investigation.