Death toll from ‘stampede’ at Spanish border in Morocco climbs to 23

Riot police stand guard in front of a group of migrants at the Spanish border in Morocco (Javier Bernardo/AP)

The number of people who were killed while trying to scale a border fence between Morocco and a Spanish enclave in north Africa has risen to 23, as human rights organisations in both countries called on authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Moroccan authorities said the individuals died as a result of a “stampede” of people who attempted to climb the iron fence that separates the city of Melilla and Morocco.