Boat tragedy: Morocco expels 30 African migrants

World

Boat tragedy: Morocco expels 30 African migrants

Close

The boat, carrying 17 illegal migrants, capsized shortly before getting to Melilla.

12 October,2012 07:43 pm

Morocco has expelled dozens of African migrants desperately seeking a better life in Europe, among them survivors of a fatal attempt to reach the Spanish enclave of Melilla by boat, a rights group said on Friday.The authorities expelled about 30 illegal immigrants across the Algerian border late on Wednesday, including six women, one of whom was pregnant, and a 13-month-old baby, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) said.Interior ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.The sub-Saharan migrants were deported at night in an abusive manner, AMDH said, adding that many of them were on board the small boat that capsized on Tuesday as it attempted to reach Melilla from nearby Nador, on Moroccos north coast.The boat, carrying 17 illegal migrants, capsized shortly before getting to Melilla and five people, including a small child and three women, are thought to have drowned, with the rest taken to hospital and then transferred to the police.The rights group said the migrants deported on Wednesday night were in a desperate state, showing signs of fear, extreme fatigue, hunger and harassment, some of them having been attacked in Morocco. It denounced the authorities for continuing to play the role of European policeman, in a way that undermines the official discourse and does not respect internationally recognised human rights.As the closest African country to mainland Europe, Morocco is a key transit point for illegal migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, who often risk their lives in overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels.Rabat has tightened immigration policy in recent months, sending hundreds of sub-Saharans back across the Algerian border, their main point of entry, since early September.