The drama that occurred on Friday in Melilla, when nearly 2,000 African migrants tried to enter by force into this Spanish enclave located in Moroccan territory, was "
an attack on the territorial integrity
" of Spain, the Prime Minister said on Saturday. Spanish Pedro Sanchez.
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According to a latest report provided by the Moroccan authorities, at least eighteen migrants died in the stampede, which Pedro Sánchez, speaking at a press conference in Madrid, blamed on "
mafias who engage in smuggling human beings
”.
Melilla is, together with the neighboring city of Ceuta, one of two Spanish enclaves located on the northern coast of Morocco, which makes their borders the only land borders of the EU on the African continent.
The two cities have for years faced attempts to enter by thousands of African migrants seeking to reach Europe.
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The head of the Spanish government also stressed that "
the Moroccan gendarmerie had worked in coordination with the (Spanish) security forces to repel this violent assault that we witnessed
" on Friday.
“
If anyone is responsible for everything that happened at the border, it is the mafias who traffic in human beings
,” he added.
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