Maroc : les corps de 12 migrants retrouvés près de la frontière algérienne
The bodies of 12 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were discovered between December 6 and 12 in northern Morocco, near the border with Algeria, several having died "from cold and hunger", a local association told AFP on Monday.
On December 6, the Association for Assistance to Migrants in Vulnerable Situations (AMSV), based in Oujda, a city near the Algerian border, went to the province of Jerada after receiving information about victims, its president, Hassan Ammari, told AFP.
"The provincial delegate of the Ministry of Health in Jerada confirmed to us the presence of six bodies," he said. On December 12, during another visit by the association to the region, "six more bodies were discovered," he indicated.
According to hospital officials, the victims died mainly "from cold, but also from hunger".
According to the AMSV, these could be people who were trying to reach other North African countries from Morocco or migrants who had recently crossed the Algerian border to enter Moroccan soil.
"Year after year, we are seeing an increase in deaths in this region," lamented Mr. Ammari, pointing out that temperatures can drop as low as -5°C between mid-November and the end of January and that many migrants only have light clothing.
Among the deceased were a woman and a 20-year-old man from Guinea-Conakry, as well as a Nigerian woman born in 1996 and a Cameroonian man born in 1999.
Regarding the causes of death, Mr. Ammari also mentioned the dangerous nature of a ditch located on the Algerian side (4.5 meters wide by 4 meters deep), adjacent to a high fence on the Moroccan side. The ditch fills with water when nearby rivers overflow during rainy weather.
"It's a death trap," designed in particular to "prevent any passage," he explains, stating that people often fall into it at night or at dawn and drown because of the mud that prevents any climb-up.
Since 2017, more than 76 deaths have been recorded in this area, according to AMSV, including migrants also originating from Chad and Sudan.
Mr. Ammari has been alerting "Moroccan and Algerian authorities to the danger of this ditch" since 2018, calling for respect for the "right to life".
Commentaires (7)
Arrêtez d abord votre racisme primaire
Dieul gaal di dem deukou naar yi nga khamneh fale wouniou lenn .. tiey
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