An aerial photograph of purported mass graves is being widely shared on social media with a claim that this is in Morocco.
According to a June 24 report by Reuters, Morocco said that 18 migrants died while attempting to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla. This followed a violent two-hour fight between migrants and border guards which resulted in many injuries.
The image is being shared on Facebook with an Arabic caption: “هيومن رايتس ووتش: تحديد مقـ..ابر جماعية بواسطة أقمار صناعية للمهاجرين الأفارقة ضحايا مجـ..زرة المخزن المغربي بميلية”
(English translation: Human Rights Watch: Identification of mass graves by satellites of African migrants, victims of the Moroccan Makhzen massacre in Melilla)
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be MISLEADING.
A simple Reverse Image Search directed us to space.com which carried the same viral image on April 22, 2022, with a headline, “Mass grave near besieged Ukrainian city Mariupol spotted from space (satellite photos)”. The photo caption reads, “This photo, taken by Maxar Technologies’ GeoEye-1 satellite on April 3, 2022, shows a newly excavated mass grave (the rows near the centre top, just under the road) in the Ukrainian town of Manhush, which is close to the besieged port city Mariupol.”
The Guardian also published the same viral image on April 22, 2022, with the caption. “Before-and-after images appear to show mass graves in the village of Manhush, near Mariupol. Photograph: Maxar Technologies/AFP/Getty Images.” Thus, it is evident from the above information that the viral image shows a mass grave in Ukraine’s Mariupol amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.
Further, according to media reports we found that “Graves were newly dug at the Sidi Salem cemetery, Nador, Morocco, where local activists believe authorities are seeking to bury the bodies of migrants who died trying to climb the fence separating Spain and Morocco.”
It can be concluded that the viral image is not connected with the horrific migrant deaths at the Melilla border but shows a mass grave near the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Therefore, the viral claim is misleading.
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