Spain lodges protest against Moroccan 'invasion'

Spain lodged a serious protest today after a dozen Moroccan troops put up two of their country’s flags on a tiny uninhabited Spanish island in the Mediterranean.

Perejil island, just off the Moroccan coast and half-a-mile in diameter, has belonged to Spain since 1668.

It is about three miles from Ceuta, one of two Spanish city enclaves on Morocco’s northern coast.

‘‘This is a serious and worrying incident,’’ Spanish Foreign Ministry secretary Miquel Nadal said. But he called for ‘‘serenity and prudence’’.

He said a letter of protest had been sent to the Moroccan embassy in Madrid noting the bilateral 1991 friendship agreement.

The incident is the latest diplomatic tiff between the two countries since Morocco recalled its ambassador unexpectedly last October.

News reports quoted the Moroccan foreign ministry as saying the soldiers had landed on the island, known in Morocco as Leila, because it was within its territorial jurisdiction.

The ministry also claimed it was part of Morocco’s fight against terrorism and illegal immigrant trafficking.