First Independent Mena Newspaper
The EU, France, Spain and Germany have welcomed the appointment of Germany’s former President Horst Köhler as new Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara. “The EU is looking forward to working with Kohler,” said an EU Spokesperson in a statement to Morocco’s news agency. “The EU continues to encourage all parties […]
The silent diplomatic row between Morocco and Spain over Ceuta and Melilla may worsen as the Spanish Defense Ministry considers deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the borders of the exclaves in northern Morocco. Enlisting airborne surveillance at Spain’s land borders with Morocco aims at reducing the numbers of Spain’s border guards, reports Spanish news […]
A diplomatic frost is silently developing between Rabat and Madrid, after Spanish media spoke of an upcoming visit by the Queen of Spain to the enclave of Ceuta on September 9. The Spanish-occupied city of Ceuta is yet again at the heart of a new row after Morocco protested in 2007 against a visit by […]
In their quest to reach the European Eldorado, migrants are increasingly shunning the Libyan routes for security reasons in favor of the closer and less risky Moroccan-Spanish land and sea borders. Deaths in sea embarkations, almost impenetrable six-meter high fence and heavily patrolled land borders on the Moroccan and Spanish sides seem not dissuading thousands […]
Over 180 illegal migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa broke into the six-meter fence surrounding the Spanish-occupied city in northern Morocco, Ceuta. Images broadcasted in the media show the migrants sprinting over the border from the Moroccan side Monday, in the early morning before sunrise. The migrants who reached Ceuta were eventually rounded up and taken to […]
Spanish rescue service said Monday it has saved 19 migrants from Algeria as they were attempting to cross the Mediterranean onboard a small boat. Two days earlier, Spain rescued 57 migrants at sea on Saturday as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe from Morocco. Spain has become the new backdoor to Europe following […]
Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido underscored Morocco’s key role in promoting the European Union’s counterterrorism efforts, saying that the Kingdom is Spain’s “best partner” in addressing the global scourge of jihadism. The Spanish minister, who made the statement at an address to a conference in Madrid themed: “European Union Challenges: Jihadist Terrorism”, stressed that […]
Would-be migrants are increasingly avoiding passing through conflict-wracked Libya on their treacherous sea journey to Europe in favor of the more peaceful and closer western Mediterranean route between Morocco and Spain. The UN Refugee Agency has warned Spain to prepare for an upcoming surge in migrant arrivals as the number of mostly sub-Saharans who made […]
Morocco announced it will proceed to the delimitation of its territorial waters and its maritime borders with the Spanish Canary Islands in the Atlantic ocean. In this regards, a draft law was approved on Thursday by the Government Council in a move that will further assert Morocco’s sovereignty in the southern provinces. “This is a […]
The absence of Algeria from a meeting on Sahel security held on July 3 in Seville between the Interior Ministers of Spain, France and Morocco shows the low expectations of the international community of the Algerian regime when it comes to countering terrorism in the Sahel. During the Seville meeting, the participating ministers agreed on […]