Allegations against Madrid: dead on the Spanish side after the attack in Melilla?

Dhe Spanish government is under pressure over the deadly incident at the Melilla border fence. On June 24, up to 1,700 mostly African migrants tried to breach the barrier around the Spanish exclave. At least 23 people died and hundreds were injured. According to human rights activists, the number of dead could be higher because more than 70 migrants are still missing. A documentary by the BBC broadcaster now contradicts the government’s statement in Madrid that there have been no deaths in Spanish territory.

Video footage from the day of the incident shows at least several lifeless bodies on the Spanish side of the cordon. According to the Spanish police, the mass panic only killed people in “no man’s land” within the border installations. The film also shows Moroccan officials at the fence bringing migrants back to Morocco from Spain. An African man interviewed by the BBC says he was beaten unconscious by Moroccan police for hours afterwards.

In response to the BBC documentary, nine parties are calling for a committee of inquiry to be set up. They include the Unidas Podemos party, which is part of the left-wing coalition led by socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The head of government assured Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska of his confidence. He reiterated that Spanish officials had responded “appropriately” and that they were not to blame for the deaths.

At the beginning of the week, six Spanish MPs visited the border crossing in the so-called Barrio Chino. They returned with new questions after seeing new footage from the surveillance cameras and receiving more information about what the Guardia Civil was doing. Accordingly, the Spanish police fired 86 tear gas grenades, 65 rubber-jacketed bullets and 270 blank cartridges. “There is no doubt that the crowding that resulted in the deaths and serious injuries occurred in an area under Spanish control,” said Podemos MP Enrique Santiago after returning from Melilla. It must also be clarified why the injured were not given medical attention in the following three hours, during which lives could still have been saved.

The parliamentarians are demanding that, after four months, the complete footage from the surveillance cameras should finally be made available to them. The deputy of the conservative People’s Party (PP), Ana Vazquez, described the deployment of the Spanish police officers, who in numbers could not cope with the violent onslaught and had several injured in their own ranks, as “impeccable”. The PP accuses the socialist interior minister of having lied and must resign immediately.

The government is awaiting the two ongoing investigations by Parliament’s Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, and the Attorney General’s Office. The ombudsman presented an interim report in mid-October. According to the Spanish police immediately sent 470 migrants back. Although most came from crisis countries such as Sudan and Chad, they did not have a chance to ask for asylum. Spanish authorities had previously spoken of 101 such “pushbacks”. 133 migrants made it to Melilla. Gabilondo complained that Spanish and international legislation had not been complied with.