The Málaga–Almería road massacre, also known as the Desbandá, was an attack on people fleeing on foot from Málaga after the largely Republican city was captured by Nationalist and fascist armies on 8 February 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.

The estimated 5,000–15,000 civilians who attempted to evacuate the besieged city via the N-340 coastal Málaga–Almería road were subjected to bombing from the air and sea, resulting in between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths.

On 17 January 1937, Nationalist forces led by General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano were sent to seize Granada, Marbella, Ronda and other surrounding areas.

Troops infiltrated Málaga with guns and tanks, while Italian and German aerial and marine forces bombed and burned the city.

Due to its geographical location along the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and its mountainous, inland boundaries (the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System) the city of Málaga was limited in means of transport and evacuation.

An estimated 15,000–50,000 civilians, chiefly the elderly, women, and children, fled towards the city of Almería, nearly 125 miles (201 km) to the east via the main coastal highway, the N-340 road (la carretera N-340).

Those who declined to evacuate Málaga (approximately 4,000 people) were systematically rounded-up, raped, killed, and piled into mass graves, such as the San Rafael Cemetery.

In 2005, a memorial service was initiated in Torre del Mar (approximately halfway between Málaga and Almería) to honor the victims of the massacre.