Melilla migrants likely died of suffocation during stampede - report

RABAT, Morocco

Morocco’s state-affiliated human rights council says at least 23 migrants who died trying to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla died most likely suffocated in what authorities called a stampede.

Authorities are still waiting on final autopsy results to determine the exact cause of death.

On Wednesday, the National Council on Human Rights (CNDH) released a preliminary report on the June 24 incident following a fact-finding mission to the shared border between Morocco, Spain, and surrounding areas.

Adil El-Sehimi, a doctor who examined the bodies said the migrants had most likely died of “mechanical asphyxiation” when a force or object prevents a person from breathing.

The Mexican Academy of Human Rights said the report is incomplete and reiterated its calls for an impartial investigation into what happened. And several rights organizations have called for an independent probe and condemned authorities on both sides of the border for excessive use of force.

Spanish prosecutors also launched an investigation.

The CNDH defended Moroccan forces’ actions, saying such cases were “isolated” and citing the danger posed by “the large number of migrants” carrying sticks and stones.

"Law enforcement did not use any firearms,” the CDNH added.

In addition to the deaths of the 23 migrants, 200 Moroccan and Spanish law enforcement officers and more than 70 civilians were injured in the incident.