At least five migrants killed in Morocco before the entry of a hundred sub-Saharans in Melilla

MADRID/MELILLA, June 24 (EUROPA PRESS) -

At least five migrants have died in Morocco and another 76 have been injured, 13 of them seriously, before the attempted mass entry into Melilla this Friday, as reported by the Nador authorities and collected by the official Moroccan MAP agency. The incident has also left 140 police officers injured, five of them in serious condition.

The Delegation of the Government of Melilla has reported this Friday that a group of about 500 sub-Saharans "perfectly organized and violent" has forced the border crossing of Chinatown at 8:40 am. In the nearby Gurugú mount there were 2,000 migrants and, finally, they managed to access the Spanish city 133.

On the Spanish side, the massive entry left at least 49 Civil Guard agents slightly injured and 57 migrants, three of whom have been treated at the regional hospital, according to figures provided by the Government Delegation.

This is the first important entry that has taken place in Melilla since the normalization of relations between Spain and Morocco in April 2022, after the change in position of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, on Western Sahara. It also coincides days before the NATO summit is held in Madrid, on June 29 and 30, which is why security measures have been tightened.

The Government Delegation has raised to about 2,000 migrants the number of people who were in the vicinity of Mount Gurugú, of which 1,500 approached the Spanish city at around 06:40 am, at which time the anti-intrusion alarm was activated of the Civil Guard Command.

Of the 500 who finally tried to access Melilla at 8:40 a.m. from the Chinatown, 130 have succeeded and have been referred to the Temporary Immigrant Stay Center (CETI). They are all male and apparently of legal age.

Four Civil Guard vehicles have suffered body damage and broken windows due to the throwing of stones by the group of sub-Saharans, "perfectly organized and violent", according to the Government Delegation.

The Government Delegation has highlighted the "extensive device deployed by the Moroccan security forces, in coordination with the Spanish State Security Forces". From Brussels, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, praised this Friday the work carried out by Morocco to try to avoid, in coordination with the Spanish security forces, the "violent assault".

A helicopter, seven security patrols, three patrols from the Fiscal company, three MIR teams and a drone have participated in the police device, and by the National Police, four patrols and two UIP vans. In addition, two patrols of the Local Police have collaborated, cutting the roads to guarantee the safety of the device and the citizens.

Associations of civil guards have denounced the use of steel bars and cutting tools by migrants, who have acted with "maximum seriousness", for which they have demanded the reinforcement of technical and human resources.