Pictures and video of what happened afterwards spread online in the days that followed. What can be seen has made human rights organizations around the world react in disgust. In a video filmed by the human rights organization AMDH (The Moroccan Association of Human Rights), one can see bloody migrants being beaten by police with batons and lying lifeless on the ground. Migrants photographed before attempting to climb over the fence into the Spanish enclave. Photo: Javier Bernardo / AP According to Spanish authorities, about 2,000 migrants tried to storm the fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. It writes The Guardian. Not sure how many died UN Secretary-General António Guterres has written on his Twitter that he is shocked by what happened. UN Secretary-General Anónio Guterres. Photo: Mary Altaffer / AP – I am shocked at the degree of violence shown at the border last Friday, which ended in the deaths of dozens of migrants and asylum seekers. The use of excessive violence is unacceptable. The rights and dignity of people on the run must be a priority. How many were actually injured or killed after the incident is uncertain. Different actors convey different numbers. Amnesty writes on its pages that it is “at least 23”. The Moroccan authorities also said this last Friday. AMDH reports 37 dead. A man from Sudan photographed at a center for migrants in Melilla. He was one of many who tried to enter the Spanish enclave on Friday 24 June. Photo: FADEL SENNA / AFP Amnesty International writes on its pages that the photos leaked from Melilla are shocking. Piles of people, both living and dead, are lying on the ground, while Moroccan police are wandering around them, they write. Amnesty says they demand an independent and thorough investigation. This applies to this incident, but also to previous incidents at the same border. Investigation begins on Saturday after the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, described the incident as “an attack on the territorial integrity of Spain”, writes The Guardian. Last Tuesday, it became known that Spanish public prosecutors have started an investigation into the deaths. A migrant has crossed the border into Melilla. The photo was taken on Friday 24 June. Photo: Javier Bernardo / AP AMDH also accuses Moroccan authorities of trying to cover up the deaths. They wrote on Twitter six days after the incident that none of the dead had been autopsied. In retrospect, there have been major protests in both Spain and Morocco against what happened. Demonstrations in the Spanish capital Madrid after several migrants were killed and injured as they tried to cross the border from Morocco into Melilla. Photo: Manu Fernandez / AP The Spanish Commission for Refugees said that most of those who tried to cross the border had fled the conflict in Sudan.
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