Perejil Island crisis
Date July 18, 2002 Location Perejil Island Result Status quo ante
Belligerents
Spain	Morocco
Commanders
Jose Maria Aznar	Mohammed Berrada Kouzi
Strength
Grupo de Operaciones Especiales Spanish Legion Spanish Navy Spanish Air Force Guardia Civil	Moroccan Navy
Casualties and losses
None	All Captured

Spanish-Moroccan conflicts (1859–2002) War of 1859 – 1st Rif War – 2nd Rif War – 3rd Rif War – Ifni War – Green March – Perejil Island crisis

The Perejil Island crisis was an armed conflict between Spain and Morocco over the small, uninhabited Perejil Island.

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Perejil Island 1.2 Tensions flare 1.3 International stance 2 Armed Conflict 2.1 Operation Romeo-Sierra 2.2 Aftermath 3 References

[edit] Background

[edit] Perejil Island

Perejil Island (Isla Perejil in Spanish and Leila Laila in Arabic) is a small rocky island about the size of a football field between Spain and Morocco, lying 250 meters from Morocco, 8 kilometers from the Spanish city of Ceuta, which borders Morocco, and 13.5 kilometers from mainland Spain. The island itself is deserted, and is occupied by some Moroccan sheferds.

[edit] Tensions flare

Hostilities rose on July 11, 2002, when a group of 6 Moroccan soldiers^[1] was deployed to the island and set up a base. Morocco claimed that it was to monitor illegal immigration and to fight drug traffic which uses the island as a logistic plateform^[2][3], a claim which Spain denied, since Morocco had not cooperated with Spain on this issue before^{[citation needed]}. After protest by the Spanish government, the soldiers were replaced by Cadets of the Moroccan Navy.

[edit] International stance

Both countries received support. Spain was supported by all European Union countries except France. Morocco was supported by all Arab League states except Algeria, which is one of Spain's top trading partners^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Armed Conflict

[edit] Operation Romeo-Sierra

On the morning of July 18, 2002, conflict broke out when Spain tried to take the island by force, code-named Operation Romeo-Sierra. The attack was carried out by Spanish commandos of Grupo de Operaciones de Especiales. The Spanish Navy and Spanish Air Force provided support. The Moroccan Navy Cadets did not offer any resistance. Within a matter of hours, all of the Moroccan Navy Cadets were taken prisoner, and the island was secured. The captured Cadets were transported by helicopter to the headquarters of Guardia Civil in Ceuta, from where they were transported to Moroccan border. Over the course of the same day, the Spanish commandos on the island were replaced by soldiers of the Spanish Legion.

[edit] Aftermath

The Spanish Legion troops on the island remained there after the operation was complete. The United States mediated the situation, and eventually managed to restore the status quo ante. All Spanish troops were withdrawn, and the island remains unoccupied but claimed by either side. BBC News interviewed Spanish citizens across Madrid after the conflict, and most people supported this incursion. However, opposition politician Gaspar Llamazares of the United Left party and Pedro María Azpiazu from the Basque's National Party (PNV) stated that the Spanish attack of the island was unjustified^[4]. Spanish newspapers also expressed doubt about whether all diplomatic means had been exhausted. This was not the first armed conflict between Spain and Morocco, which have a history of war, but the decision by the Moroccan Navy Cadets stationed on the island not to resist the Spanish invasion made it the first bloodless conflict. The two countries continue to dispute sovereignty of the island.

[edit] References

• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spain-and-morocco-agree-to-differ-over-perejil-649208.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2136501.stm