For decades, Algeria and Morocco have been at loggerheads over the Western Sahara conflict between the Polisario Front independence fighters, who proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976 supported by Algeria since the departure of the former Spanish colonial power in 1975 and Morocco, which currently administers and occupies this former colony, considering it an integral part of the Sherifian kingdom. The land border closed between the two countries since 1994, and the ongoing diplomatic war on the Western Sahara issue has been added to the case of the call for independence of Kabylia in recent months and the spectacular rapprochement of Morocco with Israel. But Algeria's president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has already warned Morocco that "their killings will not go unpunished,"as the state news agency APS reports. However, Morocco has recently scored astounding military successes against Polisario fighters thanks to its efficient drone strikes. November 2020 unleashed pandora's box following the military intervention in Guerguerat and Washington's recognition of Rabat's sovereignty over Western Sahara. [31] This prompted further attempts at negotiations, but these proved ineffectual as well. Britain formally established a protectorate over Egypt in 1914. However, in November 2020, following the reopening of the Guerguerat border crossing with Mauritania, occupied by Sahrawi troops, clashes broke out between the Sherifian kingdom and the Polisario Front, threatening the cease-fire put in place in 1991. They are based on google searches and volume search and are for entertainment purposes. [35] Just years after the victory of their own revolution, many Cubans identified with the Algerians and were eager to support them. The Africa Report takes stock of the forces at play and the risk of confrontation between the two North African giants. In their three previous meetings this season, the Warriors won twice. [34] The troops were sent at the request of Ben Bella, though he would later deny this in 1997. Letter from Africa: Lamenting the Algeria-Morocco border closure However, for Algeria, much is alsoat stakeif they can't meet the demand. Since the War of the Sands, nothing has been settled between the two countries, except for a few problems whose solution could not be delayed too long, and which required delicate negotiations: such as the demarcation of the demilitarized zone on the border, or the fate of the people and goods on both sides that suffered from the conflict, or the cooperation agreements concluded or prepared before the crisis and which were never put into effect. Algeria said . . Who Wins Wars? | HuffPost Latest News Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights, announced the severing of diplomatic relations, called for the restoration of diplomatic ties. After Moroccan forces carried out an operation to drive Sahrawi separatists out of the Guerguerat crossing point in mid-November, as the rebel group had blocked access to the area, Sahrawi fighters are once again saying a war has erupted between Rabat and the Polisario. However, the "sources" are anonymous, which leaves a certain amount of uncertainty. [8] Morocco officially reported to have suffered 39 dead. [28] Ironically, at least four AMX-13s had also been donated by Morocco a year earlier. In reality, Morocco, playing on its Arab and Muslim membership on the one hand the Sherifian monarch being legitimate on the religious level acts as the EUs good pupil in the Maghreb by adhering to its principles and maintaining cordial relations with European countries. This agreement wasmuch to Algeria's dismay as it has been a firm supporter of the local Polisario Front with the Sahrawi group that seeks independence for the region. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. [7], The Sand War laid the foundations for a lasting and often intensely hostile rivalry between Morocco and Algeria, exacerbated by the differences in political outlook between the conservative Moroccan monarchy and the revolutionary, Arab nationalist Algerian military government. However, it is to the MAK, and to the Rachad organization stamped pro-Hirak, also judged terrorist, that the Algerian power has decided to attribute the fires in Kabylia and in many regions of Algeria. But history shows that countries do not always have complete control over the scale of their own aggression, as seemingly minor escalations have quickly degenerated in the past. Solar panel initiatives are already up and running but Morocco isfar from being energy-sufficient enough to cover such a loss. AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.4.3 Release Notes | AMD Algeria is represented in Morocco by a consulate general in Rabat, and two consulates in Casablanca and Oujda. Besides, he is currently a political analyst with Moroccan, American, Gulf, French, Italian and British media on politics and culture in the Middle East, Islamism and religious terrorism. Please enable Javascript in order to access to this story. However, even if Algiers has chosen to escalate by refusing to renew the gas contract and by closing its airspace, these measures are being taken with some restraint. Then, these tensions crystallized around the Western Sahara conflict following Algiers support for the Polisario Front, which claims independence for the territory disputed between Polisario and Morocco. And it does not help that Algiers embarked on an anything but brotherly arms race some 15 years ago that spurred Rabat to do the same, with Algeria buying up Russian-made military gear and Morocco turning to Western weapons suppliers. We believe that Africa is poorly represented, and badly under-estimated. Who Would Win in a Fight? You Decide! Moroccan King Mohammed VI urges Algeria to put aside the differences between the two neighbours and open a new page in their relations. Moroccos hostile acts would thus indirectly be the arson that caused 92 deaths and thousands of displaced persons in the country between August 9 and 16, 2021 even if the material evidence of such accusations is of course absent. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune accused Morocco of supporting the Kabyle pro-independence organization MAK (Mouvement pour lautodtermination de la Kabylie), classified since last May as a terrorist by the same HCS. 5 July 2021 AFP In our series of letters from African journalists, Algerian-Canadian journalist Maher Mezahi questions why the border between Algeria and Morocco has been closed for so many. So, it is quite a risky position to take.". On the Moroccan side, Rabat denied such baseless allegations and declared that it has undertaken to sue the consortium behind the investigation for defamation before the criminal court in Paris. King Hassan II of Morocco visited Algiers in March 1963 to discuss the undefined borders, but Algeria's President Ahmed Ben Bella believed the matter should be resolved at a later date. [5] Morocco's Western allies provided assistance, after Morocco's formal requests for military aid. Morocco vs Algeria Military Comparison 2022 | Who Would Win?Morocco vs Algeria military power comparison 2022Algeria vs Morocco military power comparisonAlgeria vs Morocco military comparisonAlgeria vs Morocco military power Morocco military power comparison 2022 Algeria military power comparison 2022Algeria vs Morocco army power military power comparison 2022 Morocco vs Algeria military power 2022Morocco vs AlgeriaWorld Military Loop Algeria vs MoroccoAlgeria vs Morocco MilitaryAlgeria vs Morocco military power Morocco military power comparison 2022Algeria military power comparison 2022#Morocco#Algeria#military#millitary_Comparison#millitaryComparison On May 18, 2021, the government classified the pro-independence Movement for Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK) as a terrorist organization after a meeting of the High-Security Council (HCS). With the breakdown of the status quo, the nearly 50-year-old antagonism between the countries is now playing out on the military front. [28] They also suspected that Washington was hoping the war would precipitate Ben Bella's downfall, which Castro was determined to prevent.