Middle East 545
fishing vessels idle. Negotiations continued, and the sides made progress. By October
1973 they agreed to settle the issue by the end of the year, and on January 2, 1974,
Spain and Morocco signed a new fisheries agreement in Rabat.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from January 1, 1973.
MID#2374
Dispute Number: 2374
Date(s): February 8, 1975 to April 28, 1975
Participants: 230 Spain/600 Morocco
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: This dispute involved respective claims by both the Spanish and Moroc-
can governments over the African mainland port cities of Ceuta and Melilla. While
Moroccan military forces were putting pressure on the Spanish to hand its colonial
territory over to Morocco, and abandon plans for self-determination, Moroccan patrol
boats were putting pressure on the Spanish to pull its forces out of Cueta and Melilla.
On February 8, 1975, in response to the harassment of Spanish fishing vessels, a Span-
ish fleet sailed into Cueta and Melilla in a display of force. In April the Moroccan navy
renewed its harassment of fishing vessels, and on April 2, a Moroccan patrol boat fired
upon two Spanish fishing boats. On April 7, Moroccan patrol boats attempted to seize
two Spanish fishing boats, but two Spanish warships intervened, forcing the Moroc-
cans to flee with only one boat into Tangier.
Coding changes: End Date changed from April 7, 1975.
MID#1331
Dispute Number: 1331
Date(s): October 28, 1975 to November 21, 1975
Participants: 230 Spain, 615 Algeria/435 Mauritania, 600 Morocco
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: The Moroccan king announced on October 16, 1975, that a “Green
March” would take place by the people of Morocco into the Spanish territory in the
Western Sahara. Spain and Morocco began to amass troops along their borders, and
Spain referred to the march as an “act of force.” Although the march was peaceful, and
Morocco pledged no violence against Spanish soldiers, the troops on the Moroccan
border were placed for defensive measures against Algerian forces that had threatened
to stop Moroccan entry into the Spanish Sahara. On October 27, Algeria announced
that it was prepared to go to war if Morocco crossed the border, and talks between
Spain and Morocco broke down when Algeria reiterated this threat. It was during this
time that Morocco and Mauritania came to a secret arrangement to divide the Span-
ish Sahara between them once the Spanish ceded it. On November 5, the military
governor of the Spanish Sahara announced that Spanish forces had set up barbed wire
and minefields to prevent marchers from crossing the border, and although the Span-
ish troops had pulled behind that line, the governor warned that grave consequences