King Felipe VI of Spain will visit Ceuta and Melilla

Spanish royal sources revealed that King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will visit the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in mid-October. The move could further strain relations between Spain and Morocco.

"Reuters" reported that this will be the first visit to Ceuta and Melilla by Felipe VI since he came to the throne. Ceuta had only experienced a migrant wave at the end of July, when more than 72,000 people from Morocco were said to have flowed into Ceuta.

Melilla and Ceuta have been Spanish territories since the 15th century and 17th century respectively, but Morocco claims sovereignty over these two cities and has always opposed members of the Spanish royal family to set foot there.

Felipe VI has tended to avoid commenting publicly on the migrant crisis in Ceuta, but he said at a dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that European countries should show more solidarity with Spain and that the situation in Ceuta was "unacceptable."