And, as I promised, a 2nd update, albeit shorter than usual, with the Fall of Melilla and the first hints of Operation Pink:
A WAR ON THE STRAITS: DAY 2, JULY 18TH 2002
10AM: After two days of conversations and international pressure, the Straits are reopened to civilian traffic. There is little point to its closing now that the Moroccan fleet and airforce cannot pose a significant threat. Spanish and American governments agree that American warships based at Rota control the civilian traffic through the Straits: Around 1000 ships are waiting at southern spain and Portugal ports. Anyway, the divisions moving south for an eventual invasion of Morocco will still need a couple of days to be ready.
In Madrid, the traditional 18th july demonstration by francoist nostalgics starts under heavy security measures.
Evacuation by sea and helicopter of Spanish soldiers at Melilla, mainly intelligence officials, Special operations soldiers and soldierwomen starts while their comrades try to hold the line at the city gates.
1030AM: Situation in downtown Madrid worsens as neofascist demonstrators celebrate July 18th by attacking arab stores at the Lavapies district. Molotov Cocktails launched against the M-30 mosque, the largest mosque in Europe. When Moroccan immigrants retaliate, a large scale riot erupts. This situation is repeated in almost all major Spanish cities, with coordinated attacks from extreme right-wingers on Islamic districts and retaliation attacks by angry immigrants.
11AM: The commander at Melilla asks for a ceasefire to his Moroccan counterpart to discuss terms for an honourable surrender without too much damage to civilians, while the evacuation of the city continues as fast as ships can leave the port.
In Madrid, planners at the Ministry of Defense realize that the Spanish airforce has only air-to-ground missiles for at most 2 or 3 days worth of combat. More missiles must be bought at once. The fleet is also starting to run out of ammo.
Rioting breaks out at banlieue districts in several major French cities.
12PM: After several failed tries to contact and a short but tense conversation, both the Spanish and Moroccan commanders at the Melilla theatre of operations agree to a Spanish surrender of the city to prevent a great loss of civilian lives.
In Ceuta, the situation is stable; with the Spaniards holding off the Moroccans but unable to break the siege due to numerical inferiority. The Moroccans have been able to capture some slums and an industrial park in the southern edge of the city, but cannot advance further due to the strong defensive position the Spaniards have [look Ceuta up at google maps and see how that city’s geography is a nightmare for any attacker; it’s like Gibraltar on steroids]
12.30PM: Rioting in Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Murcia and Barcelona going on with full intensity. The mayor of Madrid is seriously considering to ask for military help and put the city under martial law.
To complicate things further, ETA decides to join the party by murdering a Guardia Civil agent at a roadblock near San Sebastián.
After 36 hours of closure, the Spanish airspace is reopened, except for an exclusion zone 100 miles around the straits. Thousands of tourists make long queues waiting for the next plane in crowded airports patrolled by soldiers and guarded by tanks and APC’s.
1PM: the last ship leaves Melilla port; minutes later the Spanish defenders surrender to the Moroccan army.
In Algiers, Spanish diplomats (some of them actually being intelligence agents) reach an agreement with Algerian counterparts.
Some other diplomats and secret agents are travelling towards Tindouf, in Southern Algeria…
1.15PM: News of the fall of Melilla make it to international media. All over Morocco, crowds gather in the streets to celebrate the Liberation of Melilla, hoping that Ceuta follows soon and the war is over.
In Spain, whatever little opposition to the war remained, most of it disappears when the first images of Legion soldiers surrendering to Moroccan forces and the Moroccan flag waving above Melilla’s town hall are broadcasted.
1.30PM: King Juan Carlos makes his 2nd speech in two days pointing out that Melilla was surrendered to prevent a great loss of civilian lives and that the war effort will continue until Melilla is liberated and the Spanish possessions in North Africa are acknowledged by Morocco.
Celebrations continue at Morocco and other Islamic countries.
Around 40000 civilians from Ceuta and Melilla have been evacuated to mainland Spain. Many have managed to find a place at family or friends’ houses, while the rest are giving a serious headache to the Spanish government. Finally, after hours of calls and negotiations, the refugees are installed at the same hotels all over Andalusia that thousands of tourists abandoned the day before, with the Spanish government paying the bill.
2PM: Moroccan units complete their occupation of Melilla while the last ships carrying Spanish troops head to the mainland. Melilla will be put under curfew and martial law until a definitive ceasefire is reached.
As if to counter the Moroccan euphoria, the Spanish airforce launches the first major strike of the day, and the biggest one in the entire war, when 93 planes operating from the bases in southern spain we already know and the Canary Islands bomb the civilian airports of Rabat, Casablanca, Tangiers, Nador, and Fez to prevent the landing of supplies sent by the Arab League.
In the northern tip of Morocco, the triangle formed by Ceuta, Tangiers and Tetouan has become a nightmarish landscape of bombed roads filled by refugees and soldiers, wrecked equipment and craters created by the constant air, naval and artillery bombardments.
