Morocco charges 86 over deadly Spain border crossing attempt

Moroccan authorities have charged 86 people following last week's incidents along the country's border with Spain during a surge in irregular migration, according to Spanish news agency EFE, which cited the Moroccan Association for Human Rights.

Neither the Moroccan government nor the country's judicial authorities have released official figures on the prosecutions.

EFE reported that prosecutors in the northern city of Tetouan charged at least 34 people, including five minors, with offences related to organising illegal border crossings and facilitating the unlawful transportation of migrants. In the city of Nador, another 52 people were referred for trial over their alleged involvement in the border incidents.

The charges follow a sharp escalation in migration pressure at the end of July, when tens of thousands of migrants reached the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta by swimming or by walking around the breakwater separating the territory from Morocco.

Spanish authorities estimated that between 50,000 and 60,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta over several days.

Morocco's Interior Ministry, however, said around 40,000 people attempted to enter Ceuta illegally, while a further 1,135 sought to reach the nearby Spanish enclave of Melilla.

The two countries have also reported differing death tolls from the incidents. Morocco's Interior Ministry said 11 people died during attempts to cross the border, while the Spanish government has put the number of fatalities at no fewer than 72 people trying to reach Ceuta.

By Aghakazim Guliyev