The 2017 Catalan Independence Referendum set for the 1st of October is very important to Morocco. Hundreds if not thousands of Moroccans living in the region will have to take part of this decisive event. How do Moroccans living in Catalonia perceive the referendum ? Are they for the independence of the region ? Two questions among others that Yabiladi asked Mohamed Chaib, a politician, community actor, and a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Chaib was the first MP of
The Spanish army categorically denied having undertaken fortifications on Tierra and Mar islands. The denial was announced by the General Command of Melilla, indicates Europa Press news agency. On Thursday, 21 September, the Spanish official news agency EFE reported that Spain is constructing fundemental services on the two rocks to contain the repeated assaults of migrants, pointing out that a helicopter makes rotations to unload equipment. The army said in its statement that the helicopter
Unsurprisingly, Morocco supports the position of the Rajoy government hostile to the referendum in Catalonia. A position announced by Minister Mustapha El Khalfi.
The Civil Guard arrested a Moroccan national suspected of helping the perpetrators of the murderous attacks that took place last August in Catalonia, to prepare explosives, the Spanish Interior Ministry said on Friday, AFP reported. The 24-year-old Moroccan, living in Spain, had close ties with several members of the cell that committed the attacks, especially Imam Abdelbaki Es Satty, who is considered the leaderof the group, the ministry said in a statement. The suspect lent them his
Importing sand from Western Sahara has been at the center of the European parliament. An MP from Izquierda Unida, (United Left) a political coalition that was organized in 1986, and which is very involved with the Front, raised questions on the same theme addressed to the European Commission. The coalition considers the import of tons of sand from Western Sahara «a serious violation of the European and international laws» and of the CJEU's verdict pronounced on the 21st of December
The Spanish Audiencia Nacional will convict a Moroccan national residing in Padilla de Arriba, a town located in northern Spain, to two years and two months in prison for visiting Turkey in 2016 with the intention of joining Syria to fight for ISIS, states the Spanish news agency EFE. The Moroccan man will also be deported after serving the sentence. At the hearing, Yesterday, Ali Afarkhane, agreed with the public prosecutor’s office to acknowledge all the allegations and pledged
Victims of the deadly attacks in Barcelona on August 17th, a father and his son of Moroccan and French descent believe they have been abandoned by the French authorities, Midi Libre reports. The family who is based in Montpelier, a city southern France, were enraged over the fact that no one came to check on their physical and mental health after the attacs. The father, Omar El Hamzaoui, was indeed hit in the leg and his 6-year-old son Aboubakr was seriously wounded. «Journalists, and
The leadership of the Polisario Front is no longer the only part accused of misusing international aid sent to Sahrawis in Tindouf camps. According to El Confidencial, a Spanish online newspaper, the President of a local NGO has stood in trial for corruption. The highly respected Oriol Homs Ferret, who also presides the Catalan association of sociology, has allegedly hijacked thousands of Euros. Funds granted by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID), under
To avoid creating tension between Morocco and Spain, the Spanish government has canceled Queen Sofia’s visit to Ceuta during which she was scheduled to chair a military ceremony.
Spanish police have found a 15-year-old Moroccan teenager hidden underneath a bus, trying to illegally immigrate to Spain, EFE news agency reported, at the maritime border post in Tarifa, in the province of Cadiz. The police officers had to break a part of the vehicle, which came from Tangier to Tarifa, in order to be able to save the young man and ensure his safety, said the police in a statement. The teenager was rescued on Monday, while the bus was being inspected upon arrival at the