Morocco claims island is an integral part of North African nation

MOROCCO claimed yesterday that a tiny Mediterranean island at the centre of a growing dispute with Spain is an "integral part" of the North African nation, but that it wanted to use diplomatic means to resolve differences.

The island, known as Perejil to Spaniards and Leila to Moroccans, “has always been an integral part of Moroccan territory,” said Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa.

He spoke as a handful of Moroccan soldiers remained on the island, a tiny, barren outcrop located just off the Moroccan shore but theoretically in Spanish hands for the past three centuries.