Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has met up with his Moroccan counterpart in Rabat to reset his country's "strategic partnership" with regard to migration and economic partnership. The Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla were also major topics of discussion.
The bodies of 13 Moroccans have been recovered after their boat sank off the country's southern coast. They were reportedly attempting to reach Spain's Canary Islands. In a separate development, some migrants from Morocco reportedly made it into the Spanish territory of Melilla over New Year’s Eve.
More than 11,000 migrants have died trying to reach Spain in the past five years, equating to a daily average of six people. That's according to a new report by Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras.
The agreement came after 23 people died and dozens more were injured when thousands of migrants rushed at the border between Morocco and Melilla, Spain.
The African Union Commission chief has voiced his shock at the "violent and degrading" treatment of African migrants trying to cross from Morocco into Spanish territory after 23 people died, and has called for an investigation into the incident.
Spanish and Moroccan activists called for a probe into the clash that left at least 23 people dead at Spain's North African exclave of Melilla. The unrest began when some 2,000 migrants tried to rush the border fence.
A large group of migrants tried to storm the border separating Spain's Melilla enclave from Morocco on Friday. Moroccan authorities have reportedly arrested a thousand sub-Saharan Africans over the incident in which dozens were injured.
Algeria said Wednesday it was suspending a decades-old co-operation treaty with Spain, after Madrid backed the position of the North African country's arch-rival Morocco on the disputed Western Sahara.
The body of a man, believed to be a young migrant, was found on Saturday close to one of the seawalls in the port of Melilla, said the Moroccan Human Rights Association. The news came as Spain announced it would extend the closure of the borders between its enclaves and Morocco for at least 15 more days.
At the end of last week, Spain and Morocco initiated a new phase of bilateral relations between the two countries. More economic cooperation, new flight routes and a warmer political climate are planned. In return, Spain reportedly wants to fly back to Morocco migrants who do not qualify for asylum.
A Spanish court has ruled that 14 underage migrants from Morocco were deported from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta illegally and have the right to return to Spain.
The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, an unprecedented influx of migrants in eastern Europe, an increase in deaths in the English Channel, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic – 2021 has been a tumultuous year for migrants and refugees on many fronts. We take a look at six of the most important developments of the year.