copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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. [...] Ceuta is also known as Sebta and is home to some 80,000 people. True to the multicultural identity of the North of Morocco, the population is a mix of Catholics, Muslims, Jews and even Hindus… The location of Ceuta has been of economic significance since the 5th Century. Together with Gibraltar on the European side, Ceuta forms one of the famous "Pillars of Hercules". Followed a long period of unstable history and changing occupation until 1415, when Ceuta was captured by the Portuguese. Finally, Portugal ceded the territory to Spain in 1668.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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. [...] However, Morocco has made numerous claims to the territories since gaining independence. In 2002, the dispute turned violent after a small group of Moroccan soldiers set up camp on the Spanish-controlled Parsley Island, 200 metres off the coast of mainland Morocco. They were forcefully removed by the Spanish navy, in a clash that heightened tensions between the two countries.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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. Ceuta and its larger sister city Melilla, situated some 400km further south along the coast, trace their Spanish past to the 15th Century.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-03-12): Ceuta is a small city on the coast of Morocco. Despite seemingly being a part of Morocco, it actually belongs to Spain. Its main characteristics are: duty-free port, military way-point, strong economy, modern facilities, and beneficial tax laws. Its total area is about 17 square kilometres. [...] Ceuta has about 45,000 residents. Close to 60% of the residents are Spanish, with much of the rest being Moroccan while residents of Indian descent comprise about 1% of the population. Most of the Spanish residents adhere to the Roman Catholic faith while most of the Moroccans are Muslim. Both Spanish and Moroccan are widely spoken. However, Spanish is the official language of business and government. [...] Ceuta does not have an airport. There is, however, a regular helicopter service from Ceuta Heliport linking it to Málaga Airport. All other access to and from Ceuta is by ferry or land.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-10): Ceuta is a Spanish city in North Africa, at the Strait of Gibraltar which divides it from mainland Spain. It is an exclave of Spain, and is all surrounded by Morocco, which believes it should belong to them. Melilla is another such city. The city area is about 20 square kilometers, and there are over 82,000 people living in the city. The city is surrounded by a border fence, which has been built to keep the Moroccans (and other Africans) from moving there unlawfully. Until it became a self-governing city in 1995, it belonged to the Province of Cádiz. It was built by the Phoenicians at a strategic position. [...] Other websites [change | change source]Media related to Ceuta at Wikimedia Commons
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2015-05-12): Ceuta is a 7-square-mile chunk of Spain attached to Africa — a peninsula that juts out from Morocco into the turquoise Mediterranean Sea. It's one of two Spanish cities, along with Melilla, that are part of the European Union but physically part of Africa. [...] Morocco has asked for control of Ceuta. It considers the peninsula part of its own territorial integrity. But Ceuta's people themselves — both those of European and Moroccan descent — overwhelmingly want to remain part of Spain. [...] This year, Ceuta marks 600 years as a European territory. It has the potential to change stereotypes of what it means to be European, Muslim or African — or paradoxically, all three. But Spain will have to deal with issues of inequality and security, if it wants to keep Ceuta for centuries to come.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-16): Moroccan police have prevented hundreds of migrants from crossing into Ceuta after dozens manged earlier on Sunday to cross the first border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave. [...] The twin Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla are the only land borders between Africa and the European Union and both have experienced occasional mass waves of migrants trying to cross the border to reach the EU. [...] The Moroccan interior ministry said that in August, authorities blocked more than 11,300 attempts to cross into Ceuta and 3,300 to Melilla.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-05-19): In a bid to prevent more people’s arrival in Ceuta, Spain has upped security along its shared border with Morocco, fired tear gas into the buffer zone between the countries, and returned people who have managed to cross into its enclave in North Africa. More than 8,000 people – mostly men, but also some women and children – entered Ceuta on Monday and Tuesday after swimming around a breakwater that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, or climbing over the border fence that separates the Spanish territory from Morocco. [...] Ceuta, with a population of 80,000, is on the northern tip of Morocco across from Gibraltar.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-15): Fnideq (Morocco) (AFP) – Moroccan police pushed back hundreds of people on Sunday who headed towards the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, an AFP photographer said, after social media posts encouraged crossing attempts. Ceuta and its sister territory of Melilla, wedged on the North African kingdom's Mediterranean coast, have long been a magnet for irregular migrants, being the only European Union territories that share a land border with the African continent. [...] The Moroccan interior ministry has said that in August alone, authorities blocked more than 11,300 attempts to cross into Ceuta and some 3,300 into Melilla.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-05-08): The two main ones are Ceuta and Melilla, which are coastal territories connected to Morocco. Spain’s other African lands are military outposts or uninhabited islands. These Spanish territories are a thorn in Morocco’s side. [...] "Because it’s not the same thing," the Spaniard explained. "The British took Gibraltar around the same time that Spain established its African colonies. But Spain had those lands next to Morocco for over 500 years! We acquired Melilla and Ceuta after we pushed the Muslim invaders out of Spain and back to Africa. We established those lands long ago. They’re as old as Spain itself." His statement had errors. It’s true that Spain established Melilla (1497) and Ceuta (1580) before the current Alaouite dynasty (which began in 1666). However, Morocco traces back its political and cultural heritage to the 8th century Idrisid dynasty.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-05-20): The Polisario Front is an independence movement that claims territory in the Western Sahara region, an area that Morocco says belongs to it. It is believed that Moroccan authorities deliberately reduced the number of military forces on this heavily guarded piece of land in the coastal colony of Ceuta on Morocco's border after Ghali was taken to Spain. This week, Spain's highest court issued a legal summons for Ghali pertaining to a possible war crimes case. [...] The region is rich in mineral resources, including some of the largest phosphate deposits in the world. Around 72% of all known phosphate reserves are there. Before the 1991 ceasefire, Morocco had started to build a border wall. The result is that much of those mineral deposits are now in Moroccan-controlled territory.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-05-19): Spain has been left scrambling to secure its borders after thousands of migrants entered Ceuta, one of two Spanish enclaves on the northern coast of Morocco this week. Around 8,000 migrants, including families, are reported to have entered Ceuta on Monday and Tuesday, many entering the territory by swimming around border fences in the sea that separate the enclave from Morocco, as well as reports of migrants using inflatables and dinghies. At least one person was reported to have died during the crossing. [...] Ceuta and Melilla have been under Spanish rule since the 17th century, although Morocco has claimed the territories as its own since its independence in 1956. Some believe that the current tension between Spain and Morocco stems from Spain accepting Brahim Ghali, the leader of Western Sahara's Polisario Front, which wants independence from Moroccan administration for Western Sahara, to be admitted to a hospital in Spain for treatment last month, angering Rabat.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2007-08-27): The southern tip of Spain and the northern tip of Africa come close to touching at the Strait of Gibraltar. At the Strait’s narrowest point, only about 13 kilometers (8 miles) separate Spain from Morocco. The small Spanish enclave Ceuta occupies a narrow isthmus of land on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar; the rest of the surrounding territory is Morocco. The isthmus and the city of Ceuta have been used as a military base since the Roman Empire occupied the area around AD 42; the city today supports a fort garrisoned by the Spanish army. This astronaut photograph illustrates the sharp contrasts in land surfaces in the area. Densely populated Ceuta occupies the center of the image, its maze of pink and white residential and industrial rooftops occasionally broken by patches of green—city parks and athletic fields. North of the city, seawalls enclose a small bay and harbor. On the beach, bright blue patches are large water parks. Green, vegetated slopes surround the Spanish fort that sits at the top of Monte Hacho, at the eastern tip of the isthmus. (The fort commands a clear view of the Strait of Gibraltar, which is visible in a regional view of the area. Several small boats are visible near the coastline to the northwest and south of Ceuta.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-27): Hundreds of migrants attempt to swim from Morocco to the Spanish territory of Ceuta BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in the last few days, including hundreds of youth who tried to swim their way around controls, Spanish authorities said Monday. [...] Ceuta and Melilla — two tiny Spanish territories in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean — have long been targeted by migrants and refugees seeking better lives in Europe. Many attempt to climb over barbed wire fences encircling the autonomous cities or reaching the exclaves by sea.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-05-01): Today, Ceuta is a Spanish exclave, a piece of a country entirely surrounded by another, in this case Morocco. And while it may only be 18 miles from the Spanish mainland, this tiny pocket of Europe in Africa is one of the most unusual places on either continent. [...] While the city no longer marks the edge of the known world, as it did for the Romans, as an EU outpost in Africa, Ceuta has come to be seen as a gateway to Europe for many migrants in search of a better life. As a consequence, the territory’s land border with Morocco is surrounded by watchtowers and barbed wire, which can be seen from the beach if you hop on a bus from the city to the town of Benzú. Morocco often uses Ceuta as a political bargaining tool, threatening to open its side of the border and allowing large numbers of African migrants to attempt entry into the EU. Morocco steadfastly holds onto the claim over Ceuta, but for Spanish people living in the exclave, it is an integral part of Spain.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 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".
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-27): Hundreds of migrants attempt to swim from Morocco to the Spanish territory of Ceuta [...] Ceuta and Melilla — two tiny Spanish territories in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean — have long been targeted by migrants and refugees seeking better lives in Europe. Many attempt to climb over barbed wire fences encircling the autonomous cities or reaching the exclaves by sea. [...] Spain and Morocco have since normalized their relations and have been working together to tackle irregular migration, but authorities in Ceuta say they are again under pressure this year. There have been 1,622 migrant arrivals to Ceuta from January to mid-August compared with just 620 in the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Spanish Interior Ministry.
Claim: Ceuta is a territory of Morocco (Ceuta, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-28): 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. [...] Five centuries of Spanish Christian occupation have given the place a European rather than Moorish appearance. (Only about a third of the population is Muslim.) Lying south of the isthmus, the port consists of a small bay enclosed by two breakwaters. With the construction of modern port facilities, Ceuta grew as a military, transport, and commercial centre. Ceuta is surrounded by a double fence with barbed wire to secure its borders. In 2006 the fence was raised and Ceuta’s military personnel and number of weapons were increased. Even so, thousands of immigrants, mainly African refugees, unsuccessfully try to cross the border every year.
Claim: Ambalat is a territory of Malaysia (Ambalat, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-18): Ambalat is a sea block in the Celebes sea located off the east coast of Borneo. It lies to the east of the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan and to the south-east of the Malaysian state of Sabah, and it is the subject of a territorial dispute between the two nations. Malaysia refers to part of the Ambalat block as Block ND6 (formerly Block Y) and part of East Ambalat Block as Block ND7 (formerly Block Z). The deep sea blocks contain an estimated 62,000,000 barrels (9,900,000 m3) of oil and 348 million cubic meters of natural gas. Other estimates place it substantially higher: 764,000,000 barrels (121,500,000 m3) of oil and 3.96 × 1010 cubic meters (1.4 trillion cubic feet) of gas, in only one of nine points in Ambalat.[1] Sovereignty dispute [edit]Territorial claims [edit]Malaysia [edit]The dispute over the Ambalat stretch of the Celebes Sea began with the publication of a map produced by Malaysia in 1979 showing its territorial waters and continental shelf. The map drew Malaysia's maritime boundary running in a southeast direction in the Celebes Sea from the eastmost point of the Indonesia-Malaysia land border on the eastern shore of Sebatik island, thus including the Ambalat blocks, or at least a large portion of it, within Malaysian territorial waters. Indonesia has, like the other neighbours of Malaysia, objected to the map.
Claim: Ambalat is a territory of Malaysia (Ambalat, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-20): KOTA KINABALU: The government should declassify the maritime delimitation treaty between Malaysia and Indonesia in the name of public interest, says Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee. [...] The Ambalat block measuring 15,000km per sq foot in the centre of the territories still in dispute outside Sabah’s coastal area is said to have the largest source of crude oil in the world and it has been defended by the Malaysian government for so long, said Kiandee. [...] He said several media reports claiming that Malaysia and Indonesia were working together in oil and gas exploration at the Ambalat block were also adding more concern to the issue.
Claim: Ambalat is a territory of Malaysia (Ambalat, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-11-27): KOTA KINABALU, Nov 27 — Malaysia and Indonesia have yet to come to any agreement over the maritime boundary that includes the controversial Ambalat region off Sebatik Island, near Tawau, which is shared by both countries, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor. [...] The Maritime Boundary, signed under the Sulawesi Sea Treaty, involves only 12 nautical miles and does not put Sabah at a disadvantage on its stand over the Sebatik border, he added. [...] Meanwhile, Tungku assemblyman Assaffal Alian was asked to apologise and withdraw his statement made during the state assembly sitting last August where he alleged that Sabah had lost the oil-rich Ambalat area under the signing of the Sulawesi Treaty.