The European Union (EU) has said it is maintaining contact with authorities in Morocco and Spain to understand the circumstances under which migrants died during a mass attempt on Friday to cross to the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
About 2,000 irregular migrants clashed last week with security services at the Spain-Morocco border as they attempted to cross into the Spanish enclave of Melilla from the Moroccan city of Nador. The clashes left at least 23 people dead, while nearly 150 Moroccan and Spanish border security agents were injured, according to current estimates.
“We are speaking with Moroccan authorities to understand the detailed circumstances of what has happened and we coordinate closely with Spanish authorities,” EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Nabila Marssali said on Tuesday at a press conference in Brussels.
Unlike some NGOs and the African Union, the EU has not requested an investigation into what happened.
However, the EU spokeswoman expressed sympathy for the families of the victims of the tragic event.
“The violence and death at the border crossing in Melilla are a great cause of concern,” she said, stressing the EU’s determination to work more closely with partners on a comprehensive management of the migration crisis, including the urgency of boosting coordination to fight against human trafficking networks.
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