Avoidable breakdown between Algeria and Morocco

Editorial of “The World”. This is an increase in fever in the unwanted area. The breakdown in diplomatic relations between the two neighbors is never good news; Maghreb and in this case, it is even less so when it comes to Algeria and Morocco. Algiers announced on August 24 that the move was not the only result of the escalation of controversy between the two countries. The impact of this competition is an additional concern for instability in Sahel.

The aggression between Algiers and Rabat around the problem of the Western Sahara is old – it dates back to the 1970s. Land borders between the two countries have been closed since 1994 by the decision of the Algerian authorities, reducing trade between the two countries. The Algerian-Moroccan crisis has taken on a new dimension since President Donald Trump announced it on December 10, 2020, and then at the end of his decree and already defeated in the presidential election, the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty in the West in return for normalizing Morocco’s relations with Israel. At this point his successor, Joe Biden, gave wings to the unquestioned “Trump deal” – Moroccan diplomacy – which was highly offensive.

Immigrant weapon

Rabat felt strong enough to open two diplomatic crises this year with the European states of Spain and Germany. In May, under the surveillance of Moroccan police, about 8,000 young Moroccans were able to cross the gates of Ciuda’s Spanish neighborhood to enter illegally. Madrid hospital has condemned the deliberate use of displaced weapons by Morocco in retaliation for the Spanish decision to welcome treatment, said Brahim Ghali, general secretary of the Saharavi Freedom Movement’s Policario Front.

Earlier, Morocco suspended bilateral cooperation with Germany and recalled its ambassador to Berlin after blaming the German government. “Anti-acts”. For withdrawing from the “Trump agreement” and the Western Sahara, the UN in the territory. Rabat is also particularly angry at Berlin for calling for an emergency meeting of the Security Council. “Occupied by Morocco”. Based on the resolution to hold a referendum that Morocco would never want to organize, Germany only called for respect for international law.

The Ciuda crisis has severely damaged the image of the Sheriff’s Kingdom with European governments. International media revelations in July that Morocco had used Pegasus spyware provided by the Israeli company NSO did not help. The Pegasus affair contributed to the deterioration of relations with Algeria, where 6,000 telephone numbers, including senior military officials, were reportedly targeted.

For its part, the Algerian regime should undoubtedly divert the people’s attention from its internal woes by appealing to national sentiment. But this new Algerian-Moroccan rift will also weaken the co-ordination of the international effort on Sahel, under the leadership of Paris, in the wake of the diplomatic setbacks of the Trump era. In such a turbulent environment, as the situation in Tunisia tightens, its consequences will be negative for the entire region.