The British officials in charge of disputed Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Spain, accused Spanish customs officers on Friday of invading the British territory while in hot pursuit of suspected tobacco smugglers
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2023) The British officials in charge of disputed Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Spain, accused Spanish customs officers on Friday of invading the British territory while in hot pursuit of suspected tobacco smugglers.
The officers landed on The Rock in the early hours of Thursday after their boat's engine failed but were assaulted with stones and injured seriously. The UK's chief minister in Gibraltar said the two also opened fire near a homestead.
"The evidence surrounding this incident discloses a gross violation of British sovereignty and, potentially, the most serious and dangerous incident for many years," Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said in a statement.
The governments of the UK and its overseas territory will consider the level of diplomatic response to what the statement described as an "illegal incursion" into Gibraltar and its territorial waters.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry rejected these accusations and condemned the "aggression" suffered by the customs officers, who required hospitalization, according to Europa Press news agency. Spain does not recognize British sovereignty over the rocky outcrop of the Iberian Peninsula.
