Morocco earthquake killed young boy as family sat at dinner table
Tafeghaghte, Morocco Reuters Hamid ben Henna had just asked his young son Marouane to fetch a knife to cut a melon for the family’s evening meal when Morocco’s earthquake hit on Friday night. With the weekend beginning, they had been enjoying a lamb and vegetable tagine stew and Marouane had been telling his father what […]
Amnesty accuses Spain and Morocco of cover-up over Melilla enclave migrant deaths
Barcelona, Spain Reuters Amnesty International on Friday accused Spain and Morocco of a cover-up for failing to properly investigate events at the border of the Spanish enclave of Melilla last year, when tens of migrants and refugees died during a mass attempted crossing. On 24th June, 2002, around 2,000 Sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees attempted […]
More than 30 feared dead as dinghy bound for Spain’s Canary Islands sinks
Madrid, Spain Reuters More than 30 migrants were feared dead after a dinghy headed for Spain’s Canary Islands sank on Wednesday, two migration-focused organisations said, as they criticised Spain and Morocco for not intervening earlier to rescue the vessel’s passengers. The groups, Walking Borders and Alarm Phone, said the dinghy was originally carrying around 60 […]
Postcards: Morocco’s Amazigh speakers fear Indigenous language fading
AHMED ELJECHTIMI, of Reuters, reports on calls to ensure the Amazigh language isn’t consigned to history…
Essay: Western Sahara – the six-decade struggle to liberate Africa’s last colony
MERIEM NAILI – in an article first published on The Conversation – says adding human rights monitoring mechanism to the mandate of the UN’s Western Sahara mission would not automatically resolve the conflict but would be a step in the right direction…
“No one can stop them”: African migrants aim for Spain’s Canary Islands
Gran Canaria, SpainReuters Standing in a cemetery of abandoned boats, Mohamed Fane picks a West African franc off the floor and shudders at the traumatic memory of his voyage from Senegal to the Canary Islands. After an arduous overland trip and months waiting, smugglers shepherded the 33-year-old carpenter into a flimsy wooden vessel with two […]
EU agrees to improve migration cooperation with Morocco after Melilla tragedy
Madrid, SpainReuters Morocco and the European Union have agreed to cooperate more closely in combatting human trafficking after at least 23 migrants died during an attempted mass border crossing from Morocco into the neighbouring Spanish enclave of Melilla, Spain and Morocco said in a joint statement on Friday. The announcement came after Spanish Interior Minister […]
Dozens of migrants piled together at Melilla border fence – video
Rabat, Morocco/Madrid, Spain Reuters Dozens of migrants were pictured lying by a Moroccan border fence, some bleeding and many apparently lifeless, in video showing the aftermath of an attempted mass crossing into a Spanish enclave on Friday in which at least 23 died. Moroccan authorities said the disaster occurred after migrants attempted to breach a […]
Pope decries genital mutilation, sex trafficking of women; praises Moroccan efforts to rescue boy trapped in well
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis condemned female genital mutilation and trafficking of women for prostitution on Sunday, calling them humiliating affronts to women’s dignity and urging officials to do everything possible to end both. “This practice, which is unfortunately common in various parts of the world, humiliates the dignity of a woman and gravely attacks […]
Postcards: In Western Sahara refugee camps, little optimism over frozen conflict
LAMINE CHIKHI, of Reuters, reports from a refugee camp in Algeria, close to the border with Morocco…