A Moroccan was buried on Wednesday after Morocco's navy opened fire on a boat carrying her and two dozen other migrants.
ADVERTISEMENTA woman was killed and three were injured after Morocco's navy opened fire on a boat carrying her and two dozen migrants.
The victim, buried on Wednesday, was said to have been studying law, died before reaching a hospital, said Mohamed Benaissa, the head of Morocco’s Northern Observatory for Human Rights of Tuesday’s confrontation.
According to various reports, the victim's age was unclear, some saying she was 19, others reporting 22. It's unclear why there was a discrepancy with her age.
One of the wounded was shot in the arm and later had to have his arm amputated, according to doctors at the provincial hospital of the Prefecture of M’diq-Fnideq.
The speedboat was carrying 25 Moroccan nationals and two Spanish captains, Benaissa told Associated Press.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of its nationals had been arrested by Moroccan authorities, one of them with a criminal record. Spain’s Europa Press, a private news agency, said the Spaniard had been charged twice and detained at least 16 times for violence against women and other unspecified crimes.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said the boat was illegally transporting migrants.
The route from Morocco to Spain is heavily used by migrants. According to a recent report by the United Nations Refugee Agency, since the beginning of 2018, nearly 300 people have lost their lives trying to cross the sea. In comparison, over the whole of 2017, 200 people had died at sea.