One Dead as Migrants, Residents Clash in Morocco

A clash between sub-Saharan migrants and residents of a Tangiers neighborhood in northern Morocco left a Senegalese man dead, the prefecture and an NGO said on Saturday.

A "disagreement" late on Friday between residents and "would-be clandestine migrants" involving the throwing of stones led to one man being killed and 14 injured, the city prefecture said, without identifying the victim.

Hicham Rachidi, founder of Moroccan anti-racism group Gadem, told Agence France Presse the man was from Senegal.

Among the injured, "an Ivorian was hospitalized and is in a critical condition", Rachidi said.

Earlier this month there were clashes in the city's Boukhalef neighborhood on the night of August 15 to 16, he said.

A study by the "Platform of associations and community of African migrants in Morocco" spoke of at least five people hurt in that confrontation.

The document said people "equipped with machetes, knives and sticks" attacked migrants, accusing them of "disturbing the peace, prostitution, public consumption of alcohol" and illegal occupation of homes.

Rachidi said these attacks are "becoming regular".

He said "between 800 and 1,000 migrants" live in the outlying Tangiers district, hoping to be able to cross to Europe.

The prefecture said nine people "from both sides" were arrested after Friday night's violence and that an inquiry has been opened.

Tension shook the Boukhalef neighborhood at the end of 2013 after the death of two migrants in unclear circumstances.

Faced with an influx at the gateway to Europe and criticism from NGOs, Rabat launched a huge regularization operation this year among the estimated 30,000 would-be migrants in the country.

By the end of June more than 16,000 applications had been made. Only 3,000 have been accepted, but an appeals commission is also operating.