Spanish troops today took control over the disputed island of Perejil off the North African coast, as Madrid told Morocco it would withdraw its troops only if King Mohammed ensured the barren rock's neutrality.
A day after Spanish forces ousted six Moroccan soldiers from Perejil in a bloodless raid, navy helicopters flew back and forth to the isle from nearby boats. Around 50 soldiers could be seen from the Moroccan shore working on the island.
Four Spanish warships sat in the bay as around 100 Moroccan locals shouted and threw stones from the cliffs overlooking Perejil, 200 yards away.
Spain tightened security at its nearby enclave of Ceuta, 4 miles away, where riot police manned the streets.
While Spain toughened its defenses in North Africa, its Foreign Minister Ana Palacio attempted to calm tensions after Morocco had compared yesterday's pre-dawn swoop by 28 members of Spanish special forces to a "declaration of war."
"Obviously, this is not a declaration of war," Ms Palacio told Spanish radio. "We need to work to lower tensions."
She reiterated that Spain would withdraw from the 30-acre isle, just 200 yards off Morocco's coast, once it had assurances that Morocco would respect its neutrality.
"These guarantees could come from the government, from the king," she said, but insisted that mediation was unnecessary.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said he would keep diplomatic channels open with Morocco to try to resolve the dispute.
"I have given instructions to keep up the necessary contacts with the Moroccan authorities to agree the terms which guarantee those aims (a return to the status quo before July 11)," Mr Aznar said in his first comments since Spanish forces ousted Moroccan soldiers from the uninhabited isle.
He added it was in nobody's interest to prolong the tension.
With concerns that the crisis could pit the Arab world against European powers, the United States, the United Nations and EU states including France called for talks to resolve the dispute.
"To talk about mediators in this crisis seems to me a bit foolish," Ms Palacio told Spanish radio. "This is something we have to resolve between Morocco and Spain. It is not sufficiently complicated for mediation."