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Morocco–Spain Border
The Morocco–Spain land border consists of three non-contiguous lines totalling 18.5 km (11.5 miles) around the Spanish territories of Ceuta (8 km; 5 miles), Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (75 metres; 80 yards) and Melilla (10.5 km; 6½ miles). Spanish islets such as the Chafarinas or the Alhucemas are located off the Moroccan coast. History Historically the were part of various Muslim empires of north-west Africa. Ceuta was conquered by Portugal in 1415. Following the Reconquista of the Iberian peninsula, Spain looked south to the North African coast, capturing Melilla from the Sultanate of Fez in 1497, with Portugal's blessing. Spain took the then-island of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera by force in 1508, with Portugal recognising this claim the following year with the Treaty of Cintra. Retaken by the Kingdom of Fez in 1554, Spain reconquered it in 1564, and it has remained in Spanish hands since that time. During the period of Iberian Union (1580-1640) Ceuta at ...
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Ceuta
Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territories in Africa and, along with Melilla and the Canary Islands, one of only a few that are permanently inhabited by a civilian population. It was a regular municipality belonging to the province of Cádiz prior to the passing of its Statute of Autonomy in March 1995, henceforth becoming an autonomous city. Ceuta, like Melilla and the Canary Islands, was classified as a free port before Spain joined the European Union. Its population consists mainly of Christians and Muslims. There is also a small minority of Sephardic Jews and Sindhi Hindus, the latter of whom originate from current-day Pakistan. Spanish is the only official language, but Darija Arabic is quite prominent as well. Names The name Abyla has been said to have been a Punic ...
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De Facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by law"), which refers to things that happen according to official law, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. History In jurisprudence, it mainly means "practiced, but not necessarily defined by law" or "practiced or is valid, but not officially established". Basically, this expression is opposed to the concept of "de jure" (which means "as defined by law") when it comes to law, management or technology (such as standards) in the case of creation, development or application of "without" or "against" instructions, but in accordance with "with practice". When legal situations are discussed, "de jure" means "expressed by law", while "de facto" means action or what is practiced. Similar expressions: "essentially", "unofficial", "in ...
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Morocco–Spain Border
The Morocco–Spain land border consists of three non-contiguous lines totalling 18.5 km (11.5 miles) around the Spanish territories of Ceuta (8 km; 5 miles), Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (75 metres; 80 yards) and Melilla (10.5 km; 6½ miles). Spanish islets such as the Chafarinas or the Alhucemas are located off the Moroccan coast. History Historically the were part of various Muslim empires of north-west Africa. Ceuta was conquered by Portugal in 1415. Following the Reconquista of the Iberian peninsula, Spain looked south to the North African coast, capturing Melilla from the Sultanate of Fez in 1497, with Portugal's blessing. Spain took the then-island of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera by force in 1508, with Portugal recognising this claim the following year with the Treaty of Cintra. Retaken by the Kingdom of Fez in 1554, Spain reconquered it in 1564, and it has remained in Spanish hands since that time. During the period of Iberian Union (1580-1640) Ceuta at ...
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Morocco–Spain Relations
Morocco and Spain maintain extensive diplomatic, commercial, and military ties. Morocco’s foreign policy has focused on Western partners, including neighboring Spain. They have however, been historically intense and conflictive. History Precedents After crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in 711, Muslims from North Africa led by the Umayyad commander Tariq ibn Ziyad seized the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the wake of the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. In the first generations after the conquest, the African Romance (argued to be part of a continuum with Ibero-Romance) presumably spoken by the Berber invaders may have facilitated communication with the native population, prior to the latter's arabization. Following the Abbasid takeover of the Umayyad caliphate, a branch of Umayyads established an independent Córdoba-centered Islamic polity in the Iberian Peninsula (initially an emirate and later a caliphate), which lasted until its demise in the early 11t ...
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Gibraltar
) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibraltar map-en-edit2.svg , map_alt2 = Map of Gibraltar , map_caption2 = Map of Gibraltar , mapsize2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , established_title = British capture , established_date = 4 August 1704 , established_title2 = , established_date2 = 11 April 1713 , established_title3 = National Day , established_date3 = 10 September 1967 , established_title4 = Accession to EEC , established_date4 = 1 January 1973 , established_title5 = Withdrawal from the EU , established_date5 = 31 January 2020 , official_languages = English , languages_type = Spoken languages , languages = , capital = Westside, Gibraltar (de facto) , coordinates = , largest_settlement_type = largest district , l ...
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Alboran Sea
The Alboran Sea (from Arabic , ''al-Baḥrān'') is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between the Iberian Peninsula and the north of Africa (Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south). The Strait of Gibraltar, which lies at the west end of the Alboran Sea, connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean. Geography Its average depth is and maximum depth is . The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Alboran Sea as follows: ''On the West.'' The Eastern limit of the Strait of Gibraltar: A line joining from tip (Europa Point) of '' Cap Gibraltar'' in Europe to the tip of the ''Península de Almina'' of Ceuta in Africa (). ''On the East.'' A line joining from '' Cabo de Gata'' in Andalusia in Europe to ''Cap Fegalo'', near Oran, Algeria in Africa (). Several small islands dot the sea, including the eponymous Isla de Alborán. Most, even those close to the African shore, belong to Spain. Geology The Alboran domain ...
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Strait Of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The two continents are separated by of ocean at the Strait's narrowest point between Point Marroquí in Spain and Point Cires in Morocco. Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes. The Strait's depth ranges between which possibly interacted with the lower mean sea level of the last major glaciation 20,000 years ago when the level of the sea is believed to have been lower by . The strait lies in the territorial waters of Morocco, Spain, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, foreign vessels and aircraft have the freedom of navigation and overflight t ...
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Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and they are the most populous special territory of the European Union. The seven main islands are (from largest to smallest in area) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It also includes a number of rocks, including those of Salmor, Fasnia, Bonanza, Garachico, and Anaga. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain, and ...
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Brahim Ghali
Brahim Ghali () ( ar, rtl=yes, إبراهيم غالي, Ibrāhīm Ġālī; es, Brahim Gali; born 16 September 1949) is a Sahrawi politician and military officer that serves as the current president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and former SADR ambassador to Algeria and Spain. Ghali has served as a historic figure and played a key role in the struggle of the Sahrawi people for self-determination and independence from Morocco. He was instrumental in the creation of the Movement for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab, the 1970 Zemla Intifada against Spanish rule, the foundation of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Polisario Front) in 1973, and the Sahrawi Republic in 1976. He also played a major role in the Western Sahara War and establishment of MINURSO, the UN peacekeeping mission for the Western Sahara. Early life Ghali was born in Smara on 16 September 1949 (although other sources claimed he was bor ...
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Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الساقية الحمراء ووادي الذهب, al-Jabhah al-Shaʿbiyah Li-Taḥrīr as-Sāqiyah al-Ḥamrāʾ wa Wādī al-Dhahab), is a rebel Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement claiming Western Sahara. Tracing its origin to a Sahrawi nationalist organization known as the Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab, the Polisario Front was formally constituted in 1973 with the intention of launching an armed struggle against the Spanish occupation which lasted until 1975, when the Spanish decided to allow Mauritania and Morocco to partition and occupy the territory. The Polisario Front waged a war to drive out the two armies. It forced Mauritania to relinquish its claim over Western Sahara in 1979 and continu ...
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2021 Morocco–Spain Border Incident
The 2021 Morocco–Spain border incident was a migratory incident caused by the massive crossing of people along the beaches of the border between both countries in the direction of Ceuta and Melilla in Spain that began on 17 May 2021. It originated due to a deterioration in diplomatic relations between the Moroccan monarchy and the Government of Spain, after the latter admitted the transfer of the main representative of the Saharawi independence movement Polisario Front to a Spanish hospital in La Rioja, in April 2021. A month after the hospitalization, the Moroccan security forces located on the border in Ceuta (and to a lesser extent those in Melilla) relaxed the last control mechanisms, allowing the passage of migrants from Morocco to the Spanish city, most of whom made the journey by swimming. Approximately 8,000 irregular immigrants, of which 1,500 were minors, crossed the border of the autonomous city of Ceuta by the breakwaters of the beaches of Benzú and El Tarajal. ...
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Melilla Border Fence
The Melilla border fence forms part of the Morocco–Spain border in the city of Melilla, one of two Spanish cities in north Africa. Constructed by Spain, its stated purpose is to stop illegal immigration and smuggling. Melilla's border and its equivalent in Ceuta, also bordering Morocco, are the only two land borders between the European Union and an African country. Recent history In September 2005, some thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants tried to climb over the fences in several waves moving upon Melilla. About 700 made it past the fences while six died in clashes with Moroccan security forces. The 2005 events at the Melilla and Ceuta border fences are the subject of a documentary film, ''Victimes de nos richesses''. Three hundred people attempted and 30 succeeded in climbing the fence in August 2020, some of the 2,250 people who entered Ceuta and Melilla in 2020. Eighty-seven people scaled the fence on January 19, 2021; nine were taken to hospital. 2000 people sca ...
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