Spanish delegation barred from Laayoune

Moroccan authorities barred Sunday eight members of a Spanish association of Andalusia from entering the southern Moroccan city of Laayoune.

The delegation supports the Polisario Front, an Algeria-backed separatist groups that claims the separation of Morocco's southern provinces, known as the Sahara.

The members of the Andalusian delegation had insisted on travelling to Morocco despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation's ban on all groups which are known for support the "Polisario," and their obvious bias towards the separatists' argument.

Inside the plane, some members of the Andalusian delegation hurled insults at Morocco, describing it as a dictatorship and describing Moroccans as backward. They declared that they were "friends of the Sahrawi people."

A journalist of El Mundo newspaper, who was accompanying the delegation, was authorized to carry out his mission. Meanwhile, another journalist remained with the delegation as a sign of solidarity.

Early this month, Morocco expressed refusal to let in Spanish citizens who have "flagrant preconception" against Moroccan territorial integrity.

Morocco has expelled so far four Spanish delegations who wanted to visit its southern provinces, accusing them of interference in internal affairs.