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Spanish, Moroccan kings to meet in Marrakesh

Spanish King Juan Carlos will meet Morocco’s Mohammed VI in Marrakesh less than two weeks after a bombing in the city killed 17 people, a spokesman for the Spanish monarch said Sunday.

King Juan Carlos will meet King Mohammed VI at the Royal Palace of Marrakesh on Monday, the spokesman said, without specifying the issues to be discussed.

Thirteen foreign tourists were among the dead in the April 28 attack on a popular Marrakesh cafe.

Relations between Morocco and Spain have been marred by recurring tensions, notably over Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish-owned towns on the north African coast that Rabat considers “occupied cities”.

Relations have also been complicated by the long-running conflict in Western Sahara, a territory that has sought independence from Morocco since the Spanish colonial authority withdrew in 1975.

In January, Spain offered to help resolve the conflict between Western Sahara’s separatist rebels and Rabat after UN-hosted talks failed to end the three-decade-old deadlock.