RABAT, July 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Morocco demanded Wednesday, July 17, that Spain immediately withdraw its forces from Mediterranean islet, Leila, which lies off the Moroccan coast, and protested to the United Nations over Spanish "aggression."

Its call came after Spain sent a team of crack troops to the islet, early Wednesday to evict a handful of Moroccan soldiers who landed there July 11, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Rabat "demands the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Spanish forces from the islet of Leila," said the ministry for foreign affairs and cooperation.

It said it was protesting to the U.N. Security Council over Spain's "aggression" and had also raised the issue with the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Spain sent an elite army unit, backed by Super Puma transport helicopters and navy commando divers, to evict the Moroccan troops from the islet, a rocky outcrop about the size of a football pitch that lies off the Moroccan coast.

Rabat also complained that Spain had raised two flags on the island.

According to the Spanish television, the Spanish troops invaded the island one hour after the Spanish ambassador to Morocco left Rabat after being recalled Tuesday, July 17.

The dispute first erupted when Morocco sent its troops to set up an "observation post" on the islet a week ago in a part of a campaign against drug trafficking, international terrorism and illegal immigration.

Morocco's Agriculture Minister Ismail Alaoui said Spain's action marked a "return to the age of gunboat diplomacy."

"I am astounded. I must be dreaming. We have gone back to the age of gunboat diplomacy," said the minister, who heads one of the parties in the coalition government of Abderrahmane Youssoufi.

"I do not understand Spain's attitude in this matter, even less so that of the European Union," said Alaoui.

And the leader of one of Morocco's coalition government parties described the Spanish move as an act of war.

"I am stupefied. One cannot solve problems with gunfire. This is a declaration of war and an error," said Majubi Aherdan, a former defense minister who heads the National Popular Movement (MNP).

"Spain has forgotten that Morocco is an independent country," he added, asserting that all ties with Spain should be severed.

The 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), to which Morocco belongs, also rejected Spain's "show of force" and slammed the E.U.'s "haste" in backing Madrid.

Secretary General Abdelwahed Belkeziz, himself a Moroccan, "declares the OIC's solidarity with Morocco in its efforts to defend its rights and sovereignty and reaffirms that the island of Leila is part of the territory of a Muslim member state, and has nothing to do with the European Union," the OIC said in a statement.

"[The E.U.'s] position is in contradiction with the real objectives of the Moroccan steps, which seek to fight drug trafficking, international terrorism and illegal immigration," the statement said.

Moroccan newspaper, L'Opinion, said the discovery of an Al-Qaeda network in the north African country in mid-May had led to Rabat's decision to put troops on the rocky islet.

"If Spain wants to fight terrorism and illegal immigration, it must support Morocco's action over this issue," the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, Spain defended Wednesday its position and said it would withdraw its forces as soon as possible.

"The [government] does not want to keep a permanent military presence (on the islet of Island)," Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said.

She said Spain's action was aimed at restoring the "status quo" on the island, which lies just off the coast of Morocco.

Defense Minister Federico Trillo said Madrid had acted to remove the Moroccan troops in what he described as "legitimate defense" of its interests.

The European Commission, which has backed E.U.-member Spain over its claims to the island, offered Wednesday to help resolve the dispute.

"The commission remains concerned by developments on the islet of Leila. It is now time to return to the status quo ante and to resume dialogue between Spain and Morocco," Commission President Romano Prodi said in a statement to reporters.

"The European Commission attaches great importance to relations between the E.U. and Morocco. We are ready to act to facilitate dialogue."

The rocky outcrop, known as Leila in Morocco and as Perejil in Spain and which is so small it does not even appear on most maps, is hotly contested by both countries and the dispute is threatening to escalate into something rather more serious.

Moroccans believe the tiny, triangular islet belongs to them by virtue of its lying inside Moroccan territorial waters, but the Spanish say they should have authority over Gibraltar due to its geographical position, at the foot of the European mainland.

Yet that has not prevented them flexing their muscles by forcibly evicting a few Moroccan troops they consider to be "invaders" from the disputed islet.

The island is uninhabited, a mere 13.5 hectares (33 acres) in area, and is a popular bathing spot for Moroccans.