2022 Melilla Incident

On 24 June 2022, close to 2,000 migrants and asylum seekers, most of them from Sudan, moved from the Aznouden forest near Nador toward the border fence separating Morocco from the Spanish exclave of Melilla. Moroccan and Spanish security forces attempted to disperse the group, leading to roughly two hours of violent confrontation. Spanish and Moroccan officials stated that border guards were attacked with weapons and responded in self-defense.

During the incident, some migrants forced open a gate at the border crossing while others attempted to climb the fence. Many became trapped in courtyards with turnstile doors that could not be opened from inside, causing severe overcrowding and a fatal crush as people trampled one another; others fell from the fence. Twenty-three migrants and asylum seekers were killed — five during the crossing attempt and thirteen who later died of injuries in hospital, according to official figures. Seventy-seven others were injured, along with 140 Moroccan officers (five seriously) and 49 Spanish Civil Guards (lightly). A preliminary medical examination found signs of cervicofacial congestion and cyanosis on the faces of the deceased. Of those involved, 133 people reached Spanish territory and 470 were pushed back across the border.

Casualty figures were disputed. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights reported 29 deaths and 70 people missing, while the NGO Colectivo Caminando Fronteras estimated at least 37 killed. NGOs also reported two Moroccan gendarmes died. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the event as a "well-organized, violent assault" attributed to organized crime groups and praised the security forces' response, a characterization criticized by human rights organizations, who noted that some condemned actions occurred on the Spanish side of the border as well.

In the aftermath, Moroccan prosecutors charged 29 migrants with felonies — including facilitating clandestine border crossings and taking a civil servant hostage — and 36 with misdemeanors; most detainees were Sudanese, with four Chadian nationals also held. Moroccan courts later sentenced thirteen migrants who had not reached Spanish territory to two and a half years in prison plus fines. In September 2022, Spain's cadastre and geographic institute found the incident occurred on land classified as Spanish "security zone" territory, though the Interior Ministry maintained the deaths occurred in an area controlled by Moroccan authorities. Morocco's National Human Rights Institution and the Spanish Ombudsman both opened inquiries, and the African Union Commission called for an investigation. On 23 December 2022, the Spanish Prosecutor's Office closed its investigation, finding no responsibility on the part of the Interior Ministry, the Civil Guard, or agents present, and describing their use of force as proportionate.