copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-16): Spanish colonisation of north africa turned the city of Melilla into a marvel of Modernisme and Art Nouveau, with a wealth of buildings now being restored [...] Set on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the small Spanish city of Melilla is something of an architectural enigma. This tiny enclave, an early Modernist marvel, has more in common, architecturally, with Barcelona than with North Africa. [...] Following the establishment of the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco, decreed by the 1912 Treaty of Fez, much of northern Morocco had come under colonial Spanish rule. With Spain’s increased presence in North Africa, Melilla was feeling confident.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-01-25): Melilla is a Spanish exclave in North Africa, on the Moroccan side of the Mediterranean. In some ways, it's similar to Ceuta but in other ways, it's a unique place. [...] From Morocco. Melilla is completely surrounded by Moroccan territory (and the sea), and this is obviously a very sensitive border. Many try to cross illegally into Spain, with dire consequences. Crossing legally (in either direction) is also an eye-opening experience, but presents no particular difficulties if you are not transporting counterfeit goods or hashish. [...] Melilla (like Ceuta) is a territorio franco, which means no VAT or other taxes.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): Ceuta (UK: /ˈsjuːtə/, US: /ˈseɪuːtə/,[5][6] Spanish: [ˈθewta, ˈsewta] ; Arabic: سَبْتَة, romanized: Sabtah) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of the special member state territories of the European Union, and it is one of several Spanish territories in Africa, which include Melilla and the Canary Islands. It was a regular municipality belonging to the province of Cádiz prior to the passing of its Statute of Autonomy in March 1995,[7] as provided by the Spanish Constitution, henceforth becoming an autonomous city. [...] - ^ "Ceuta y Melilla son España, dice Juan Carlos I; Sebta y Melilia son nuestras, responde Mohamed VI". Blogs.periodistadigital.com. 22 February 1999. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2009. [...] - ^ "Ceuta and Melilla: Spain's enclaves in North Africa". BBC News. 4 June 2021.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-08-24): Ceuta and Melilla are two cities from Spain in African territory. [...] I've seen this map where Gibraltar is considered as "Non-self governing territory" (like Western Sahara from Spain) but Ceuta and Melilla don't appear. [...] "It is absurd to compare them," he said. "[Ceuta and Melilla] have never been colonies and are not now."
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-05-18): The tiny Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla sit on the northern shores of Morocco's Mediterranean coast. Together they form the European Union's only land borders with Africa. [...] 1497 - Spain conquers Melilla, a long history of attacks and siege by Muslim forces follows. [...] 1936 - Melilla is the first Spanish town where the military garrison revolts against the Popular Front Government at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-28): - CNN - Inside the tiny corner of Spain that lies in the middle of North Africa - BBC News - Ceuta, Melilla profile - GlobalSecurity.org - Ceuta - NASA - Ceuta, Northern Africa - CRW Flags - Flag of Ceuta, Spain - The Telegraph - The curious slice of Spain in Africa - BBC - Ceuta and Melilla: Spain's enclaves in North Africa Ceuta, Spanish exclave, military post, and free port on the coast of Morocco, at the Mediterranean entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. Ceuta is an autonomous city administered by Spain. Ceuta, Melilla (also an exclave), and other tiny islets along the coast of North Africa constitute the territories of Spanish North Africa. The city is on a narrow isthmus that connects Mount Hacho (also held by Spain) to the mainland. (Mount Hacho has been identified as possibly the southern Pillar of Heracles, of the ancient Mediterranean world; Jebel Moussa [Musa] in Morocco is another possibility.) On the summit of Mount Hacho is a fort used by the Spanish military.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-08-02): The Spanish Territories of Morocco: Melilla and Ceuta [...] The next territories are Melilla and Ceuta. Often referred to as the "twin cities," these are both autonomous cities that belong to Spain. These two coastal cities are on mainland Morocco but separated from the rest of the country with walls 20ft of height. According to Eurostat data from 2019, Melilla has a population of 84,689 and Ceuta has a population of 84,829. Although located in North Africa, these cities are a part of the European Union, use the Euro as their currency, and use Spanish as their official language. [...] Since the Spanish acquisition of the two cities, Melilla was part of the Malaga Province of Spain, and Ceuta belonged to the Cadiz province but both the cities were granted autonomy in March of 1995. Ceuta and Melilla’s government systems are now Mayor-President systems with a 25 seat assembly.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-01-21): Humanities › Geography › Key Figures & Milestones › The Spanish Enclaves of North Africa The Territories of Ceuta and Melilla Lie Within Morocco Print Photo Taken In Spain, Ceuta. Marina Lubinets / EyeEm / Getty Images Geography Key Figures & Milestones Basics Physical Geography Political Geography Population Country Information Maps Urban Geography By Brian Baskerville Brian Baskerville M.A., Geography, California State University - Northridge B.A., Geography, University of California - Davis Brian Baskerville is a geographer at the United States Department of Agriculture. He holds a master's degree in geography. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on January 21, 2020 At the onset of the Industrial Revolution (circa 1750-1850), European countries began scouring the globe looking for resources to power their economies. Africa, because of its geographic location and its abundance of resources, was seen as a key source of wealth for many of these nations. This drive for control of resources led to the "Scramble for Africa" and eventually the Berlin Conference of 1884. At this meeting, the world powers at the time divided up the regions of the continent that had not already been claimed.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-08-18): "Non-Iberian Spain" and "Plaza de Soberanía" are two of the terms used to describe Melilla, a small city near the Moroccan city of Nador—that is technically in Spain. Unlike other parts of Morocco that were colonized by Spain in the 19th and 20th centuries, Melilla has been officially "Spanish" since 1497, in the days of Ferdinand and Isabella. As such, Melilla is referred to as a "place of sovereignty" by the Spanish government. By the Moroccan government, it is considered occupied territory. [...] Melilla’s status is hardly without controversy, even after 500 years of Spanish rule. Today many immigrants and refugees make their way to Melilla hoping to access mainland Europe. Since at least the 1990s (when European Union membership required Spain to improve their border controls) there have been reports of inhuman treatment, from authorities on both sides of the border, towards those attempting to cross into Melilla.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-06-05): As the crisis was unfolding, Moroccans launched a campaign on Twitter, with the slogans: "Ceuta and Melilla is not Spain" and "Ceuta and Melilla are Moroccan - end colonialism". [...] - 8th Century: Launchpad for Moorish conquest of Iberian peninsular - 15th Century: Melilla conquered by Spain - 17th Century: Ceuta comes under Spanish rule - 1956: Spain retains Ceuta and Melilla after Morocco becomes independent [...] "Under international law, Morocco doesn't have strong claims to Ceuta and Melilla, which have been Spanish for hundreds of years. There are significant legal and political barriers to any change in status of those territories in favour of Morocco," writes Dr Jamie Trinidad of Cambridge University in the UK.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-06-22): (Brussels) – There has been no credible investigation or justice for the victims of the horrific violence and deaths of asylum seekers and migrants at the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla a year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. [...] The borders around Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two enclaves, are heavily fortified. Over the years, African migrants and asylum seekers have resorted to attempts to scale, en masse, the fences surrounding the enclaves due to the lack of safe and legal migration channels and obstacles to reaching official border posts. The Moroccan government says 23 people died on June 24, 2022, when between 1,300 and 2,000 men, most of them from Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad, attempted to scale the 6- to 10-meter chain-link fences around Melilla, one of two Spanish enclaves in North Africa. UN experts estimate that at least 37 people died, and the nongovernmental Moroccan Association for Human Rights in Nador (Association Marocaine des Droits Humains, AMDH Nador) says 77 people are still missing.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-06-23): Families of the dead and missing are trapped in limbo as their attempts to find out what happened to their loved ones and efforts to ensure justice, truth and reparation are being impeded in an apparent cover up by Spanish and Moroccan authorities, said Amnesty International on the eve of the first anniversary of the deadly events that took place on the border of Spain’s Melilla enclave. [...] "One year on from the carnage at Melilla, Spanish and Moroccan authorities not only continue to deny any responsibility but are preventing attempts to find the truth. Bodies are still lying in a morgue and in graves and efforts to identify the dead and inform their relatives have been blocked," said Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard. [...] "What happened in Melilla is a salutary reminder that racist migration policies aimed at fortifying borders and restricting safe and legal routes for people seeking safety in Europe have real and deadly consequences. It is hard to escape the racialized element of what happened in Melilla and the dehumanising way in which Black people are treated at Europe’s borders, when they are living, missing or dead," said Agnès Callamard.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-06-25): The Spanish prime minister on Saturday described a deadly migrant rush on the enclave of Melilla from Morocco as an attack on Spain's "territorial integrity", as human rights activists demanded an investigation. [...] Melilla and Ceuta, Spain's other North African enclave, have the European Union's only land borders on the African continent, making them a magnet for migrants. [...] In the days just before Morocco and Spain patched up their ties, there were several attempted mass crossings of migrants into Melilla, including one involving 2,500 people, the largest such attempt on record. Nearly 500 made it across.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-06-15): Spain’s new interior minister has announced that dismantling barbed wire fences that separate the two Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla from Morocco is among his "main priorities". [...] For centuries, Ceuta and Melilla were vital port cities, offering protection for Spanish ships and acting as trading posts between Europe and Africa. In the 1930s, Spanish troops garrisoned in the two cities played a major role in future dictator Francisco Franco’s uprising against their government. [...] Spanish King Juan Carlos angered Moroccans by visiting Melilla in 2007. The infuriated then-Moroccan prime minister Abbas El Fassi said: "We would like to remind everyone that the two cities form an integral part of Moroccan soil and their return to their homeland will be sought through direct negotiations with our neighbour Spain."
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-06-19): Melilla, along with Ceuta, is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities located on the African continent. Ceuta is geographically close to the city of Tangier, Morocco and the strait of Gibraltar. Melilla is further east in close proximity to the Moroccan city of Nador. Melilla's border with Morocco is comprised of three fences in succession of 6, 3, and 6 meters in height respectively. This border-fence structure is located on Spanish territory and its supervision, including the operation of its gates, remains under the exclusive control of Spanish authorities at all times. Spain acknowledges that its territory includes the border-fence structure. [...] On the night of 13 August 2014, a group of sub-Saharan individuals reached Spanish territory by using one of the few routes available to them: scaling the fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Once they entered Spanish territory, most were stopped by the Spanish Guardia Civil within the Spanish border-fence structure. Following this incident, Spanish authorities then directly handed these individuals back to the Moroccan security forces within the fence structure. Those who did not manage to climb the fence high enough to escape the reach of the security forces, suffered particular violence. Others escaped ill-treatment by balancing atop the fences, hoping to be identified and processed in accordance with Spanish immigration law. [...] Case report: The Spanish-Moroccan land border in Melilla – A lawless zone for automatic expulsions
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-06-23): Melilla, one of the two Spanish enclaves in Morocco, shares a physical land border of 11.2 km with Morocco and is separated from the Northern province of Nador by three fences. These fences, and particularly the four official border crossing points along it, have been the sites of deaths and injuries of many people trying to leave Morocco and enter Europe. Melilla is a fortified zone, with fences, concrete walls, ditches and barbed wire fences, all designed to prevent people from accessing Spanish territory. Amnesty International has long documented how the militarization and securitisation of these border management systems, as well as the use of weapons to stop people from crossing the Ceuta and Melilla borders, makes it difficult for people to access safe routes for asylum. [...] On the morning of that fateful day, between 1500 and 2000 refugees and migrants, mostly Sudanese, attempted to cross the border between Morocco and Melilla.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-06-05): As the crisis was unfolding, Moroccans launched a campaign on Twitter, with the slogans: "Ceuta and Melilla is not Spain" and "Ceuta and Melilla are Moroccan - end colonialism". [...] 8th Century: Launchpad for Moorish conquest of Iberian peninsular 15th Century: Melilla conquered by Spain 17th Century: Ceuta comes under Spanish rule 1956: Spain retains Ceuta and Melilla after Morocco becomes independent [...] "Under international law, Morocco doesn't have strong claims to Ceuta and Melilla, which have been Spanish for hundreds of years. There are significant legal and political barriers to any change in status of those territories in favour of Morocco," writes Dr Jamie Trinidad of Cambridge University in the UK.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-03-02): Some 2,500 migrants, refugees try to cross Spain’s Melilla border [...] About 2,500 migrants and refugees from countries in sub-Saharan Africa have tried cross the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco, with about 500 managing to do so, in one of the largest influxes in recent years. [...] Melilla and Ceuta, another Spanish territory in North Africa, have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-01-01): EU country / Territories related with EU countries [...] Other countries or territories [...] In these territories, national rules apply: EU country may choose not to apply any VAT, to apply different VAT rates under different conditions than in the rest of its territory or to apply the same VAT rates as in the rest of its territory.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-16): Melilla, Spanish exclave, military base, and free port on the northern coast of Morocco. The city is located on the eastern side of the Cabo Tres Forcas (French: Cap des Trois Fourches), a rocky peninsula that extends approximately 25 miles (40 km) into the Mediterranean Sea. Colonized by the ancient Phoenicians (later Carthaginians) and Romans under the name of Rusaddir, it fell as a Berber town to Spain in 1497 and remained Spanish thereafter despite a long history of attack and siege. After acquiring the adjacent area in about 1909, Spain modernized Melilla’s port and made the town into a garrison post for Spanish Morocco. In 1921 during the Rif War, Moroccan tribes under the leadership of Abd el-Krim almost captured the town. Melilla was the first Spanish town to rise against the Popular Front government in July 1936, thus helping precipitate the Spanish Civil War. Melilla was retained by Spain as an exclave when Morocco attained independence in 1956. In 1995 the Spanish government approved statutes of autonomy for Melilla, replacing the city council with an assembly similar to those of Spain’s other autonomous communities. [...] Textiles, shoemaking, and local metallurgical manufactures are Melilla’s main industries. Services, including a growing tourism industry, contribute significantly to the economy. Two-thirds of the exclave’s population is Roman Catholic, while the remainder is mostly Muslim. Area 5 square miles (12 square km). Pop. (2018 est.) 86,384.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-10-27): The coastal cities of Ceuta and Melilla are both located within Morocco yet have been Spanish territories since the 17th and 15th centuries, respectively, making them home to the only European land borders on the continent of Africa. [...] Spain highlights that the territories of Ceuta and Melilla, which also include three uninhabited islets (the Alhucemas Islands, the rock of Vélez de la Gomera and the Perejil Island) had preceded the creation of the Protectorates. Instead they date from the time of the Reconquista, the centuries-long series of battles by Christian states (today’s Portugal and Spain) to expel the Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula. [...] By GlobalDataConversely, Morocco argues that Spain’s territories within its kingdom are a remnant of colonialism and should be given back. However, the UN does not include these exclaves in its list of non-self-governing territories, defined as territories "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". Both Ceuta and Melilla have a similar semi-autonomous status as that enjoyed by all other regions of mainland Spain.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-12-01): Melilla sits on the north coast of Africa, surrounded by the waters and territory of Morocco. For the ceaseless tide of African and Asian migrants working their way northwards, it has a compulsive attraction: by accident of military conquest more than 500 years ago, this city which is geographically African is legally part of Spain. As the migrants reach the Mediterranean, where so many of their predecessors have died, Melilla offers them a safe bridge into Europe – if they can smuggle themselves across its barricaded perimeter. [...] Gregorio Escobar, governor of Melilla, sits in his well-appointed office in his neat grey suit. "We have a responsibility to take care of this border," he says, "not only for our own citizens but for all of Europe. Also, Spain has a responsibility to take care of the people who happen to get inside." He is no monster, and explains that he understands the pull of the city when the average per capita income inside Melilla is 15 times higher than it is on the other side of the fence in Morocco, and almost immeasurably higher than in sub-Saharan Africa, from where most of the migrants come.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-23): Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE/S&D) of acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it firmly rejects the recent publication of an official map of Morocco's territory that includes the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, while the regional president of Melilla has demanded that Madrid lodges a formal protest with Rabat. [...] Although there has been no formal protest from Spain to Morocco, the secretary general of the PSOE of Melilla and spokesperson of the Socialist Group in the Assembly of that autonomous city, Gloria Rojas, stressed that "Melilla and Ceuta are and always will be an indissoluble part of the Spanish nation". [...] Rojas recalled that Pedro Sánchez always defends that both autonomous cities are part of Spain: "he makes it very clear every time he states that Melilla and Ceuta are Spain, full stop (...) they are and always will be, just like Gijón, Toledo or Málaga", the socialist politician stated.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-30): If you are planning to visit Melilla, don't hesitate, because your trip to this Spanish city in African territory will be unforgettable. An authentic, historic military fortress, modernist architecture and cuisine with a fusion of flavours await you. It also has direct links by sea and air with the cities of Malaga, Granada, Motril and Almeria (Andalusia), and Madrid. Although there are many reasons to visit Melilla, these four will be enough to make you fall in love with it: [...] Melilla is the city in Spain with the second highest number of modernist buildings after Barcelona, thanks in large part to Enrique Nieto, Gaudi's apprentice who lived in Melilla from 1909. Melilla's modernism can be clearly seen in its curved buildings, full of movement and natural motifs or women's faces, which contrast with the geometric forms of its classical buildings.The so-called Golden Triangle, where some of the city's most renowned modernist works are located, such as the Palacio de la Asamblea, the Casa Melul, the Reconquista building and the Plaza de Menéndez Pelayo, is a must-see.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Spain (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-05-01): Fought over for millennia, Ceuta is officially classed as an autonomous Spanish city. It’s also part of the European Union and is one of two Spanish exclaves on North Africa’s Mediterranean coastline. The other is Melilla, a city also of some 85,000 people, around 250 miles east of Ceuta, that also borders Morocco. [...] While Morocco gained independence in 1956, Spain held onto Ceuta and Melilla. It’s a dispute that still runs deep, and in 2023, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez complained to Moroccan authorities when Moroccan maps included both Ceuta and Melilla within the country’s borders. The year before, Spanish media reported Sanchez as stating that "Ceuta and Melilla are Spain, full stop" after Morocco had complained to the United Nations that "Melilla is a prison occupied by Spain."