The government of the British enclave of Gibraltar has accused Spain of a “gross violation of the sovereignty” of the United Kingdom after an incident at customs on Thursday in which Spanish customs officers chasing smugglers opened fire, News.ro reported.

The incident, during which shots were fired, happened on Thursday morning at around 5:00 local time on one of Gibraltar’s beaches, Eastern Beach, involving Spanish customs officials who were attacked by smugglers.

According to local Spanish media, customs officers landed on Eastern Beach to investigate apparent smuggling and two of them were injured after the smugglers allegedly threw rocks at them. One of the agents would need surgery after the incident, while the other is recovering at home.

“The facts of this incident represent a flagrant breach of British sovereignty and potentially the most serious and dangerous incident in recent years,” Gibraltar’s Prime Minister Fabian Picardo said on Friday, as quoted in a statement also signed by Gibraltar’s governor. enclave.

In a joint statement, the authorities of Gibraltar say that the facts of the incident are being investigated, but the invasion of representatives of the Spanish state, who landed on the territory of Gibraltar, is clearly a serious violation of sovereignty and jurisdiction. And if it is confirmed that the Spanish officials unloaded their weapons in Gibraltar, such actions would constitute a very serious violation of the law, as well as a reckless and dangerous action, especially since it happened in a populated area of ​​a civilian nature, given the proximity of the residential complex in this area, say representatives of Gibraltar.

The Government of Gibraltar is coordinating its response to this incident with senior officials from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the UK Ambassador to Spain and believes that the events will require careful consideration of the nature and level of diplomatic response.

Authorities have contacted Spanish officials to ask for an explanation.

Fabian Picardo noted that the Spanish authorities know they can seek the support of Gibraltarian law enforcement if they need to continue their pursuit in Gibraltar, but they do not appear to have done so on Thursday.