copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (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. [...] Although Spanish is the official language, many people of Moroccan origin make their home in Melilla, and visitors to the city are just as likely to encounter a jellaba-clad woman speaking Riffian-Berber as they are to see a mantilla on the head of a Señora with a Castilian accent. And while Catholic Semana Santa processions happen in the streets before Easter, the Islamic Eid al Adha is also recognized as an official holiday.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (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 Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-10): Melilla (Arabic: مليلية (Maliliyyah), Berber: ⵎⵔⵉⵜⵙ (Mřič)) is a Spanish exclave in North Africa, on the African side of the Mediterranean. It serves as a transit point for people and goods between Spain and Morocco. Melilla and Ceuta, another Spanish exclave, are claimed by Morocco. [...] [edit]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. [...] Do [edit]Buy [edit]Melilla is a territorio franco, which means no VAT or other taxes.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (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 Morocco (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 Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-12-29): Melilla, a Spanish city on the northern coast of Morocco, has an interesting history which involves colonization, uprising, autonomy and immigration. [...] More than 400 years later, the Spanish modernized Melilla’s port and made the city into a garrison post. Although Moroccan tribes led by Abd el-Krim almost captured the territory in 1921, Melilla survived and became the first Spanish town to rise against the Popular Front government – a coalition of parties which was encouraged to create a common front against fascism in 1936. When Morocco achieved independence in 1956, Spain retained Melilla as an exclave. 39 years later, it authorized rules of autonomy for the city, endowing it with similar attributes as those of other Spanish autonomous communities.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-03-20): Conquered by Spain in the 15th Century, Ceuta and Melilla are two small territories on the North Coast of Morocco and somewhat of a historical anomaly. The North of Morocco was occupied by Spain for a long time and, as I noticed in Tangier, Tetouan and Chefchaouen, Spanish is still widely spoken. Spain recognised Morocco’s independence in 1956 but the two enclaves remained Spanish, known as Plazas de Soberania. They retained their culture and their Spanish population, however, they are claimed by Morocco, and are a bit of a sore point between the two nations. Today, those territories are somewhat vulnerable to large groups of illegal migrants trying to find their way to Europe. If you are exploring the North of Morocco, I recommend hopping into Spain for a day or two and enjoy something different. [...] Further east along the Mediterranean Coast, close to the town of Nador, lies the second Spanish enclave in Morocco: Melilla. Located close to the Moroccan town of Nador, Melilla is a smaller enclave surrounded by a 6 m high border fence, erected to deter mass intrusions by illegal immigrants. [...] Melilla has a similar history to Ceuta. Before gaining a status of autonomy in 1995, Melilla was part of the Province of Andalusia in Spain. The Spanish conquered Melilla in the 15th Century and Morocco has been disputing their ownership since the independence in 1956.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-08-24): Ceuta and Melilla are two cities from Spain in African territory. [...] In this case, there is a "foreign rule" but Ceuta and Melilla are not separated "from the administration of the original country of the colonizers". 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.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (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 Morocco (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". [...] When Morocco gained independence in 1956, following more than four decades of rule by Spain and France, Spain refused to include Ceuta and Melilla in the handover. [...] 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 Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-30): The 20th century ushered in dramatic changes for the broader region, and Ceuta and Melilla were no exception. As decolonization movements swept across Africa, Morocco, newly independent in 1956, quickly laid claim to both cities, viewing them as integral parts of its territorial sovereignty. For Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla are akin to colonial vestiges that ought to be reintegrated into the kingdom, much like Gibraltar is for Spain in its own dispute with the United Kingdom. Spain, however, has steadfastly maintained that Ceuta and Melilla are integral parts of its national territory. Both enclaves were officially declared autonomous cities in 1995, further cementing their political and administrative ties to Madrid. Spain’s argument is based on a legal framework that sees Ceuta and Melilla as long-established Spanish municipalities, predating the modern Moroccan state. [...] The future of Ceuta and Melilla remains uncertain. The enclaves are unlikely to lose their strategic importance, particularly given their roles as EU borders. For Morocco, reclaiming the cities remains a long-term national goal, though the issue is often placed on the back burner to preserve broader bilateral cooperation with Spain on matters like trade, migration, and security.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-05-18): Ceuta, Melilla profile - Published 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. [...] El Telegrama, external - Melilla
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-10-30): Featuring impressive Catalan Modernist buildings, a sheer medieval fortress, and a wealth of tapas bars, Melilla is one of two independent Spanish cities located in North Africa. The exclave sits nestled on the Mediterranean coast, sharing a border with Morocco. [...] Melilla is completely surrounded by either Moroccan territory and the Mediterranean sea. The city has been a port center since the Phoenician times and under Spanish control since 1496. Today, many outpost inhabitants are Spanish military troops. [...] Melilla, Spain is a Spanish enclave located in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast in Morocco. The city is located between Al-Hoceima and Oujda and is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities in Morocco, the other being Ceuta, Spain. So while visually it appears to be in Morocco, it is considered a part of Spain.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-16): 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. [...] When northern Morocco gained its independence from Spain in 1956, the Spanish held on to their old enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-05-18): MELILLA spanish enclave on morocco's northeast coast. One of Spain's two remaining footholds on the African continent, the enclave of Mellila occupies approximately 7 square miles on the Guelaia Peninsula, near the city of Nador on Morocco's northeast Mediterranean coast. In addition to the town, there are also two groups of adjacent islands. A majority of the population of 69,000 are ethnically Spanish and Catholic; a substantial minority—about 40 percent—are Berber Muslims, most of whom have Spanish citizenship. In recent years, Melilla, like its companion Spanish enclave Ceuta, has attracted both Moroccans and black Africans seeking to immigrate illegally into Europe. Founded by the Phoenecians in the third century b.c.e., Melilla was occupied by Spain in 1497, one of several presidios established to protect the Spanish mainland. More territory was added to it after the 1860 war, and in 1861 it was made a free port. Morocco has never ceased to insist on the return of Melilla and Ceuta, but the two countries agreed in 1976 to shelve the dispute as part of their agreement on Western Sahara. In the mid-1990s, as Moroccan political life slowly revived, the status of Mellila and Ceuta became a prime national issue for the country's political parties. The Spanish parliament's approval of statutes of autonomy for the two enclaves in 1995 irked the Moroccans considerably.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (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". [...] "Morocco agreed to separate the issue of Ceuta and Melilla from the other territorial disagreements, pitting the two countries against each another in the UN Special Political and Decolonization Committee, known as the 4th Committee," he says. [...] "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 Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-07-13): Moroccan probe finds 23 Melilla border dead likely ‘suffocated’ [...] At least 23 migrants who died last month in a mass attempt to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco likely "suffocated", the state-backed National Human Rights Council of Morroco (CNDH) has said. The number of dead – after an estimated 2,000 people, many from Sudan, stormed the Spanish territory’s frontier on June 24 – was the worst in many attempted migrant crossings over the years into Spain’s Ceuta and Melilla enclaves in North Africa – the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (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 Morocco (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 Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-10-08): Direction: By land into Melilla and Ceuta [...] On June 24 last year, a day still referred to as the Melilla massacre, 37 refugees and migrants were killed in confrontations in Melilla, a Spanish territory within Morocco, according to Amnesty International. [...] According to Human Rights Watch, no safe and legal routes exist to access Melilla and Ceuta, the other Spanish territory in Morocco. Both have evolved over recent decades from near-borderless territories to fortified cities whose frontiers are patrolled by armed Spanish and Moroccan police.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-03-05): Despite the appalling death toll, serious questions remain unanswered by Spain and Morocco over what happened. Spain continues to deny that any deaths took place on its territory and has given only a partial account of its role despite having at least two sources of aerial footage documenting the events that unfolded on the day. [...] With reporters on the ground on both sides, in Morocco and Melilla, we traced 40 of the witnesses and survivors from the day to gather testimony. We also conducted confidential interviews with senior officers in the Guardia Civil, Spain’s national police force. They hand drew sketches of the border for us, and described how the events of June 24 unfolded. In Melilla, a high-ranking officer told us that deaths "probably" took place in Spain. This is the first time a police official in Spain has made an admission of this kind. [...] Despite the many injuries sustained on the day – some of them fatal – medical assistance was not mobilised in time to help people in Morocco or Spain. In Melilla, an ambulance was parked 100 metres from the border, but officials said they couldn’t get closer for safety reasons. In Morocco, ambulances were present throughout the day, but they were reportedly used predominantly to remove dead bodies.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (Melilla, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-01-12): It is also worth noting that Morocco does not officially recognize Spanish sovereignty over the cities of Ceuta and Melilla despite the existence of full border control on both sides. The territorial dispute is leveraged by both Spanish and Moroccan authorities to block migrants and asylum seekers. Extrajudicial pushbacks still take place on a regular basis despite the recent European Court of Human Rights sentence against Spain condemning these. Spanish authorities use the ambiguity of the No man’s land on which the fence is built as a justification. The pushbacks can happen at any stage of crossing the complex system of three different barriers and the deep pit that form the fence – or even after reaching the Spanish side. Footages by activists give evidence that Moroccan forces even cross the different gates through the fences and enter Spanish territory to capture and return migrants and asylum seekers, including minors.
Claim: Melilla is a territory of Morocco (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. The website of the Moroccan embassy in Madrid has recently published a map on which Ceuta and Melilla appear as part of the North African country's territory. [...] 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".