[39] Finally, the accord suggested an immediate gathering of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Algiers denounced on August 18, 2021, the incessant hostile acts perpetrated by Morocco against Algeria. Immediately, it risks materializing as Algiers rearming the Polisario, which has declared that it is no longer concerned with the ceasefire and has been at war with the Moroccan presence in Western Sahara since November 2020. Hostilities between Morocco and Algeria have taken on a new dimension in recent months, especially over the Western Sahara question. [31] This prompted further attempts at negotiations, but these proved ineffectual as well. [32], French sources reported Algerian casualties to be 60 dead and 250 wounded,[6] with later works giving a number of 300 Algerian dead. [44], Article 6 du trait, cit par Zartman, page 163, "Western Sahara: Nonviolent resistance as a last resort", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sand_War&oldid=1152716101. Called the War of the Sands, this war refers to the attack of the Algerian army on Moroccan troops which caused the death of 12 Moroccan soldiers. Bilateral relations warmed as Rabat prepared for a visit by the then-Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and his delegation to sign several agreements. (L to R) Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia, Hassan II, king of Morocco, Modibo Keita, president of Mali and Ahmed Ben Bella, president of Algeria, leaving African Unity summit in Addis Ababa. With the breakdown of the status quo, the nearly 50-year-old antagonism between the countries is now playing out on the military front. [21], In 1956 France relinquished its protectorate in Morocco, which immediately demanded the return of the disputed departments, especially Tindouf. Today, one must consider that this consensus is dead. Since then, relations between Algeria and Morocco have been going downhill withambassadors being recalled,borders closed, accusations for sparking forest fires being thrown around,airspaces being blocked and the killing of three Algerian truck drivers adding fuel to the fire. However, no matter how you look at it, there are no winners anymore. - In order for bilateral military confrontation to occur, there are different patterns that have to be reached: o War is the ultimate instrument for the defence of the country's strategic interests, which include national security and the country's projection as an international actor. He recently taught cultural studies to Semester abroad students with AMIDEAST, IES and CIEE study abroad programs in Morocco insuring such courses as: Introduction to Moroccan Culture, Contemporary North African History, Arab Spring, Amazigh Culture, Moroccan Jewish Legacy, Community-Based Learning (internship with civil society organizations). Algeria does the same, and talks with its allies that revolve largely around the Western Sahara issue, as well as negotiations with countries focused on the sale of hydrocarbons, gas and oil, are not at all affected by the crisis with Morocco. But if the myth of a united Maghreb is still alive, it no longer covers the same realities. By downloading this PDF you agree to subscribe to The Africa Report Daily newsletter, This year's AU could work to Morocco's advantage over Western Sahara, Morocco/Algeria : Tensions on the rise after Algerian show mocks the King, Morocco/Algeria: Western Sahara conflict shows signs of escalation, Morocco/Algeria: The armed forces behind the Western Sahara conflict, Morocco/Algeria: Military leaders in the shadows, Morocco/Algeria: Jeune Afrique, a magazine caught between two mortal enemies. The Moroccan consul in the western Algerian city of Oran called Algeria an enemy country, prompting the Algerian foreign ministry to summon the Moroccan ambassador and to declare the implicated diplomat persona non grata. However, the "sources" are anonymous, which leaves a certain amount of uncertainty. The Algerian authorities had previously cut their diplomatic . 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. But history shows that states do not always have absolute control over their own level of aggressiveness: an escalation that is initially controlled can quickly degenerate. Zunes, Stephen (1995). This view is echoed by Sonja Hegasy who is convinced that "both countries don't have any interest in waging a war on this conflict, so the most realistic scenario is that the bilateral relations are going to continue to stagnate. [24] Ben Bella's fledgling administration was still attempting to rebuild the country after the enormous damage caused by the Algerian War and was already pre-occupied with an insurgency by the FFS led by Hocine At Ahmed opposed to Ben Bella's autocratic rule. 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. Morocco abandoned its attempts to control Bchar and Tindouf after OAU mediation. 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. The North African neighbours are locked in a bitter rivalry over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where the Algerian-backed Polisario movement seeks an independence referendum. The fires in Algeria were ordered by Rabat according to the Algerian propaganda. She believes that neither side can really afford to push the envelope too far. However, the contract between Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach and the Moroccan National Office for Energy and Potable Water (ONEE) ended without renewal in late October this year. ", Ukraine updates: Russian attack causes injuries, damage, Ukraine: Russian troops edge closer to taking Bakhmut, Ukraine's counteroffensive: Goals, opportunities, risks. Referring to the speech of Ramtane Lamamra, the new head of Algerian diplomacy, at the same conference, he also said that Algeria should not deny this right to the Kabyle people while supporting the self-determination of the Sahrawis and Palestinians. Discredited for its inability to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the fury of the fires ravaging Kabylia, Algeria has accused Morocco of complicity in these fires denounced as hostile acts.. Algeria said . But without strong evidence, I think they would be hard pushed to launch some kind of military attack in response," Gower said. 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. Countries similar in appearance but heterogeneous in fact. The governments of both Morocco and Algeria used the war to describe opposition movements as unpatriotic. The desire to adopt the European model is such that Morocco even went so far as to apply for membership in the European Union in 1984. That's why debates like Goku vs. Superman, Link vs. But the war is affecting the wider region in ways that are undeniablemost notably by feeding the rivalry between Morocco and. Andrew Wells-Dang on U.S.-Vietnam Ties 50 Years After the Paris Peace Accords. An unwritten dissuasive consensus united the two regimes, Algerian and Moroccan, not to use Kabylia and the Rif as an extension in their conflict over Western Sahara. At first glance, it is easy to believe that they are similar in every way. In the case of UNFP, its leader, Mehdi Ben Barka, sided with Algeria, and was sentenced to death in absentia as a result. The Algerian authorities no longer see Morocco as a rival but as a potential enemy, seeking to destabilize a regime already weakened by an economy damaged by the fall in the price of oil in 2014 and by a political situation that has been at a standstill since the emergence of the Hirakin February 2019, a peaceful movement demanding a democratic transition. Click 'COMPARE' to process the request. "Alone at Home" children's play debuts at Sharjah Children's Reading Festival 2023. The Algerian High-Security Council (HCS), an organ of consultation between the President of the Republic, the army, and the security services, declared on August 18, 2021, in a statement, that, the incessant hostile acts perpetrated by Morocco against Algeria required the revision of relations between the two countries and the intensification of security control at the Western borders. Tensions between Algeria and Morocco have never been as tense in 45 years. Algerian authorities suspected that Morocco was inciting the revolt, while Hassan was anxious about his own opposition's reverence for Algeria, escalating tensions between the nations. The Western Sahara crisis continues to poison relations between the two states. This resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Algeria's ill-equipped. In addition, Morocco has been keen on mending ties with various European countries, among them Germany, after several fallouts in the past year. By Heloise Urvoy with AFP Updated: 29/04/2023 - 08:23. Moroccan activism, Algerian tension [8] About 57 Moroccans and 379 Algerians were taken prisoner. While Algeria has promised to meet Spain's demand by using the smaller undersea Medgaz-pipeline instead as it doesn't run through Morocco the decision has sparked fear of gas shortages and soaring energy prices in Spain and other European countries. About: GlobalFirepower.com is an annually-updated, statistics-based website tracking defense-related information of 145 nations and exists as a wholly-independent resource. [39] The meeting would be held to set up a commission to determine who was responsible for starting the war and to examine the frontier question and suggest methods for bringing about a lasting settlement of the conflict. On Nov. 1, three Algerian citizens were killed in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. who would win a war between morocco and algeria. In Algiers, Moroccos latest moves have been a clear source of tension at a time when Algerias once highly influential diplomatic corps is starting to pick up the pieces after 20 years of stagnation under former president Abdelaziz Bouteflikas regime. November 2020 unleashed pandora's box following the military intervention in Guerguerat and Washington's recognition of Rabat's sovereignty over Western Sahara. Rabat denied the accusations but Algiers demanded that the former provides evidence. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights, announced the severing of diplomatic relations, called for the restoration of diplomatic ties. READ MORE Morocco/Algeria : Tensions on the rise after Algerian show mocks the King. Get full access to The Africa Report on all your devices. [23] However, Hassan was reluctant to authorise it, fearing that another battle would prompt further military intervention from Algeria's allies. The Moroccan UNFP and the Algerian-Berber FFS of At Ahmed both suffered as a result of this. He invaded the country in 1963. "At the moment there are still many question marks over the origins of the attack; some early research suggests that the location where it took place is considered Moroccan by Rabat but under the control of the Polisario by Algiers," Alice Gower, director of geopolitics and security at the London-based political adviser Azure Strategy, told DW by phone. 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. Morocco is represented in Algeria by an embassy and consulate general in Algiers, as well as two consulates in Oran and Sidi Bel Abbs. Online tool for comparing the current military strengths of two world powers. Trade agreements with the European Union incorporating the disputed territory are considered an achievement by Rabat both for its claim to the Moroccan identity of the Western Sahara and its positioning as a regional leader. "Algeria has obviously said it can replace the supplies to Spain through the Medgaz pipeline.

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