Morocco allows a Spanish military rescue unit to operate in the country for the second time in its history since independence

For the second time in the history of independent Morocco, the Moroccan Royal Court has allowed a Spanish military unit to operate inside the country. This is the Military Emergency Unit, which is part of the Armed Forces structure, which since Sunday has been helping the Moroccan authorities in rescue operations in the area affected by the earthquake that has caused more than 2,000 deaths and many more injured and which has devastated a large part of villages and towns in the rural area southwest of Marrakech. 

The first time the Royal Court authorised the presence of Spanish military personnel in a rescue operation was in October 1998 when a Pouknair plane, leaving Malaga for Melilla, crashed shortly before landing at Cape Tres Forcas, on Moroccan soil. When the Melilla Military Command wanted to send a military unit to the site, it was stopped at the border by Moroccan customs. The Minister of the Interior at the time, Dris el Basri, informed King Hassan II of the circumstances of the accident and the Spanish authorities' intention to send a military rescue unit. The Alaouite king gave his consent and the Spanish military were able to enter Moroccan soil for the rescue and lifesaving operation. 

The same behaviour has been shown by King Mohammed VI, who, like his father before him, gave permission for the Spanish Emergency Military Unit to enter Moroccan national territory and help in the relief operations deployed in the earthquake zone. A gesture that shows the depth and scope of the strategic relations between the two countries.