37 migrants are said to have died trying to cross the border between the Spanish enclave of Melilla and Morocco
Mohamed Ismail is Sudanese. He left his country to settle in Morocco in the hope of finding a better job and therefore a better future. However, his future was clouded by bullets fired by Moroccan security forces.
Ismail, who left Sudan, crossed several countries until he landed in Morocco six months ago. There he tried desperately to find work to earn a living, but to no avail.
Losing all hope of finding a good job opportunity, he decided to join the hundreds of migrants to cross the militarized border barrier between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
This attempt did not succeed since the candidates for exile were forcefully received by the Moroccan and Spanish security forces.
Initial reports said five people were killed in last week’s violence, but Moroccan authorities later raised the figure to 23. By contrast, Helena Maleno Garzon, head of the NGO Walking Borders, said that at least 37 people had lost their lives.
Videos from the Moroccan side of the border show what appear to be dead bodies and seriously injured people strewn on the ground without receiving medical attention.
Other footage shows hundreds of people, some with obvious injuries, lying on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs.
Among the injured was also Ismail, who was injured by rubber bullets.
“I came to Melilla looking for a job and possibly to move to Spain,” Ismail told Anadolu Agency.
He said the situation escalated suddenly when the police tried to violently prevent migrants from crossing the border fence.
“The migrants did not use violence,” he stresses.
According to the Spanish news agency EFE, dozens of Moroccan and Spanish police were also injured during the storming of the border, where the migrants were armed with homemade knives, as well as sticks, stones and hooks. to climb the border fence.
Following the violence, Ismail was deported by the Moroccan authorities to the city of Beni-Mellal, 600 kilometers from Melilla.
“I have no idea why I was kicked out,” he said.
Moroccan authorities have deported hundreds of migrants to other cities in a bid to prevent any future attempts by them to force their way into Spain.
On Saturday, several non-governmental organizations called for an investigation into the treatment of migrants when they attempted to cross the border.
The attempt was the biggest mass movement on the border since Spain and Morocco stepped up bilateral cooperation after Madrid decided to back Rabat’s position on Western Sahara.
