Moroccan protesters blockaded the border with the Spanish enclave of Melilla [2] Aug. 13, effectively shutting it down. Since mid-July, Morocco's government has issued five statements accusing Spanish police of abusing Moroccans in the enclave, as well as charging that a Spanish civil guard sea patrol abandoned a boat filled with eight ill African migrants in the Mediterranean after intercepting them trying to enter Spain. "The Kingdom of Morocco is astonished that no official answer was offered by Spanish authorities until now over the cases of racist drift by the Spanish police," said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. The two countries' kings spoke by telephone this week to try to ease tensions. (AP [3], Aug. 13; Reuters [4], Expatica [5], Aug. 11)
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