The recent wave of tens of thousands of Moroccan and other African economic refugees attempting to reach the Spanish settler colony of Ceuta has renewed Moroccan demands that Spain return Ceuta and Melilla, known in Arabic as Sabtah and Maliliah, to Morocco.
At least 141 people died in the crossing, while most of those who made it across were forcibly or "voluntarily" sent back.
Travel from Ceuta or Melilla to mainland Spain by air or sea requires passing through Spanish passport and travel-document checkpoints, meaning that even refugees who enter the two settler colonies can travel no further.
The racist Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni nevertheless responded by introducing targeted air and sea border checks for non-EU nationals arriving from Spain, lest they include Arabs and Africans.
An incensed Spain retaliated by imposing matching temporary border controls on flights and boats from Italy. Morocco, meanwhile, proposed talks with Spain on the future status of both territories, which the Spaniards rejected outright.
