Spain and Morocco in Fresh Dispute over African Enclaves

SPAIN has summoned the Moroccan ambassador to Madrid to clarify statements made by Morocco’s Prime Minister on Spanish territories in North Africa.

Morocco’s PM Saad Eddine El Othomani recently told an Arabic news network that his government plans to make a stake for territory over the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Bordering Morocco, the two territories have been ruled by Spain for centuries and are Europe’s last remaining outposts in Africa.

In a statement, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it “expects that all its partners respect our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Madrid has summoned the Moroccan ambassador Karima Benyaich to answer questions about El Othomani’s comments.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recently canceled a planned trip to Morocco scheduled to take place at the beginning of December due to the coronavirus. Both countries enjoy close diplomatic and business ties, though the topics of Ceuta and Melilla occasionally crop up to produce spats between Madrid and Rabat.

Both Melilla and Ceuta are official Spanish territories, home to some 160,000 people between them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Spain and Morocco in Fresh Dispute over African Enclaves”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.