Melilla: Three years after the tragic mass attempt by 2,000 sub-Saharan migrants to cross into the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa, the exact number of deaths remains unknown. What began as an ordinary Friday morning in the Autonomous City of Melilla quickly turned into a day marked by bloodshed and silence—a dark chapter in Spanish, Moroccan, and European migration policy.
According to Global Voices, around 2,000 migrants, mostly from Sudan, attempted to storm the border fence between Morocco and Spain through the Barrio Chino checkpoint. The outcome was devastating: dozens of deaths and disappearances, marking a significant turning point in the region’s migration narrative. Three years later, there is still no confirmed death toll or trace of many who tried—and possibly failed—to cross that day.
Amnesty International reports at least 37 confirmed deaths and 73 missing persons. Caminando Fronteras places the toll at 40 dead and 77 missing. AMDH-Nador (Association Marocain des Droits Humains), together with Border Forensics, counts 27 deaths and over 70 missing. Meanwhile, a coalition of 74 NGOs addressed the UN with a joint letter stating that at least 37 people were killed and more than 70 remain unaccounted for. The official Moroccan version, however, reports 23 migrant deaths and two Moroccan police officers killed, with 76 migrants and 140 security personnel injured, a version endorsed by Spain’s Ministry of the Interior.
An independent investigation by El País, Lighthouse Reports, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and Enass alleged that at least one migrant died on Spanish territory. Amnesty International also reported that Spanish forces conducted 470 so-called hot returns, forcibly sending migrants who had crossed the fence back to Morocco. Survivors were reportedly transported to remote areas in Morocco. Their current whereabouts remain unknown, as some were said to have continued their journeys through other migration routes such as Libya, Algeria, or Tunisia, though no reliable sources confirm this.
On June 28, 2022, Spain’s Public Prosecutor opened an investigation to examine the events and whether Spanish authorities acted appropriately. However, by December 23 of the same year, the case was closed, citing no evidence of criminal conduct in the use of summary returns. Moroccan authorities also launched an inquiry into their security forces’ actions, formally closing it on June 24, 2024, citing a lack of evidence of wrongdoing and defending the gendarmerie’s actions against what they described as a violent assault by migrants.
Melilla remains a crucial final stop on many migratory routes to Europe. Daily life has resumed, as if nothing had changed, even though the memory of that day hangs heavily over the city, its residents, and the migrants who pass through it. Since 2022, no border crossing of such magnitude has occurred. The fence has been fortified, although smaller attempts have been recorded. In the last two years, about 1,770 migrants have crossed the fence. Currently, the main route into Melilla is via the sea. As time goes on, silence and lack of accountability persist, leaving the families of the dead and missing with open wounds, waiting for truth, justice, and remembrance.