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One killed and 13 people injured in a stampede at the Melilla crossing point

Barrio Chino, the border crossing near the Spanish enclave, Melilla./Ph. DR
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Several people were injured  and one was killed on Monday, 22nd of January, in a stampede at the crossing point of the Spanish enclave of Melilla, reports AFP quoting local authorities and a rights group.

In a statement published today, Melilla police said that three were wounded on the Spanish side, indicating that one of the injured was transferred to the hospital in a «very serious condition». The 39-year-old man died in the afternoon at Melilla Provincial Hospital, MAP told local authorities in Nador province. They have indicated that all measures will be taken to repatriate the deceased.

Meanwhile, 11 Moroccan nationals were also injured in the same incident, according to the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH).

Speaking to Omar Naji, an AMDH activist based in Nador, the French news agency reported that the stampede was at the Barrio Chino border post, used by pedestrians who carry merchandise on foot. On the other hand, the police in Melilla added that «without prior warning, the crowd rushed... on the entrance turnstiles to Melilla» from the Moroccan side.

This is not the first incident that occurs at the border crossings in the North of Morocco. Last week, two women died at the Tarajal II crossing after being crushed in stampede between Ceuta and Fnideq. According to the same source, four female porters were killed at the same border crossing last year.

Recent data points out that 15,000 women carry goods from Ceuta to Morocco everyday, a number that lowered by the Spanish authorities to 4,000 people per day.

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