Morocco invades rock

last updated 8 January 2015

Perejil, Spain

A dozen Moroccan soldiers planted two flags on the tiny, disputed islet of Perejil this week, prompting Spain to send naval ships to the area. Perejil, a rock about half a mile long, is populated only by goats. It has switched from Moroccan to Spanish sovereignty and back many times over the centuries. Spain relinquished almost all its Moroccan territories in 1956, in a treaty that left it only Ceuta and Melilla, two tiny provinces on the Moroccan coast, just across from Perejil. While it did not explicitly claim sovereignty over the islet, Spain urged Morocco to withdraw its flags and “return to the status quo.” Spanish citizens of Ceuta and Melilla fear that Morocco may be preparing to take over their two provinces next.