Moroccan authorities have begun prosecuting 65 migrants who joined Friday’s mass attempt to cross into a Spanish enclave by storming a border post, leading to the death of at least 23 migrants, a judicial source said on Monday.
About 2,000 migrants took part in the attempt, triggering violent skirmishes with Moroccan security forces and Spanish border guards at the Melilla enclave, with about 100 managing to get across.
Moroccan authorities said the deaths resulted from a crush after a reported stampede, and from migrants falling from a high fence.
Scores more were injured, they said, along with dozens of Moroccan security personnel.
The Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) said 29 migrants had died, citing unnamed hospital sources.
On Sunday, the African Union voiced shock at what it called the violent treatment of migrants leading to deaths and injuries, and demanded an immediate investigation.
Morocco and Spain have denied using excessive force.
The judicial source said that most of those being prosecuted are from Sudan and that they face charges of igniting fires, attacking security forces and facilitating illegal border crossings.
The AMDH said three of its lawyers would help represent the migrants in court.
Many other migrants detained by the authorities on Friday have been bused to southern Morocco and released there, the AMDH said, a practice Rabat began in 2018 to discourage illegal migration attempts.
Video that the AMDH issued following Friday’s incident showed dozens of African men lying piled alongside each other, many apparently lifeless, some bleeding and some making feeble movements while Moroccan police stood over them.
The AMDH said that the injured were left unattended for hours, adding to the death toll.
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘BODIES EVERYWHERE’: The incident occurred at a Filipino festival celebrating an anti-colonial leader, with the driver described as a ‘lone suspect’ known to police Canadian police arrested a man on Saturday after a car plowed into a street party in the western Canadian city of Vancouver, killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8pm in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada’s election. A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police wrote on X. The driver was a “lone suspect” known to police, a police spokesperson told journalists at the
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a new naval destroyer, claiming it as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, state media said yesterday. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim attended the launching ceremony for the 5,000-tonne warship on Friday at the western port of Nampo. Kim framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the US and its allies in Asia, who have been expanding joint military exercises amid rising tensions over the North’s nuclear program. He added that the acquisition
RSS