The Moroccan authorities arrested this weekend 15 migrants of Sudanese and sub-Saharan origin, including 2 minors, at Mount Gourougou near Melilla and Nador. According to several Spanish media, the arrests came following “violent clashes” between the two sides during a new attempt to gain irregular access to the enclave, while the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) , Nador section, suggests the opposite.
According to information disseminated by Iberian media, “the clashes took place around three in the morning”, noting the participation “of a group of about 40 or 50 migrants”. They justify that these migrants, who take refuge in the forest in “camps”, are waiting for the right moment to jump the fence separating the enclave from the town of Nador.
The same media reported that since the assault on Melilla last June, the mountain was empty until the massive arrival of a group of migrants in recent days from the cities of Oujda and Berkane. They thus rely onsecurity sources and Sudanese” confirming the advent of a new attempt which will see an even greater participation of migrants than the one before it, estimating that the number could reach up to 5,000 people and that the arrests are made with the aim of aborting the “future assault”.
However, the AMDH indicates in a press release that “the 15 sudanese and sub-saharan migrants arrested yesterday morning during a combing at the level of the south gorougou forest are still at the headquarters of the judicial police of nador for the establishment of PV and will be brought today before the prosecutor”.
The association reveals the presence of 2 minors among the detainees adding that the arrests took place while the migrants were sleeping in the woods, “ they were surprised by a massive attack from the authorities who knew their location thanks to the use of drones“, she says, lamenting that “some media try to portray them as violent clashes” and as a new “attempt to jump over the border fence to justify further repression against them”.