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You can read this article in German: LINK
Morocco and Algeria are ready to challenge each other for control of Western Sahara. Control of that piece of desert could spark a war between Rabat and Algiers, eternal rivals. In the background, the fate of the Polisario Front, supported by the Algerian government.
For over a year, tension has been growing in Western Sahara. Last year, the Moroccan governament unilaterally declared the sovereignty of Rabat over Western Sahara. Due to the choice of Rabat, Polisario Front and Algeria have declared that they are ready for war. Morocco claims it has no intention of starting a conflict. But in the meantime, it strengthens its defense systems. Over the past year, the Rabat government has spent nearly $ 10 billion on the purchase of attack drones from Turkey, Apache helicopters and F-16 jets from USA.
Moroccan armed forces continue to garrison those disputed territories. And Rabat diplomacy continues to work to bolster US government support. On November 22, the Moroccan Minister of Defense met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Washington confirmed its support for Rabat.
A low-intensity war is already being fought in the dunes of the Western Sahara.
The latest incident took place on November 1st. Three Algerian drivers lost their lives while aboard their trucks, which went up in flames and then exploded along the road from Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, to Ouargala in Algeria.
Morocco and Algeria both accuse each other of being responsible for that episode. For the Kingdom of Morocco, it would not have been an attack, but an explosion caused by the passage of trucks over a minefield. Those mines, according to Rabat intelligence, were allegedly placed there by Polisario forces.
From Algiers comes a different story. According to the state news agency “Aps” “three Algerian citizens were cowardly murdered by a barbaric bombing of their trucks” accusing the Moroccan armed forces of having conducted an air raid using a drone. The Algiers government has warned: “Their murder will not remain unpunished”.
Abdelmajid Tebboune, president of Algeria, accuses Morocco of being the cause of all the problems in the country. According to the Algiers government, Rabat plots to overthrow the Algerian government. Polisario Front, has made it known that it will not stop fighting for the independence of Western Sahara.
From that distant piece of desert the sound of war drums comes louder and louder. The closure of the Maghreb – Europe Gas Pipeline (MEG) could also be the prelude to an armed conflict.
The dispute over the Western Sahara began in 1975 when, following the withdrawal of Spanish rule, Morocco annexed a part of this area, located on the north-western coast of Africa. In response, in 1976, the Polisario Front (formed as a movement on 1973), announced the birth of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, establishing a government in exile in Algeria and waging a guerrilla war for independence that lasted until 1991, when a ceasefire was declared, promoted by the United Nations.
Now, after thirty years, there is a risk of a new conflict.
The thing is who the big countries and the countries of the region will support.
We stand with Morocco, and if they get our drones and other AD systems then Algerian soldiers will run away in the desert with their sandals. Morocco will crush Algeria with the U.S-Israeli support, so they will be wise not to start any war.
Yeah, but Morocco is Turcophile. But Algeria is the same. Both countries supported GNA in Libya.
Internet warrior strikes again from his basement…. Who are “we”? you, your husband and your two daddies? Do you really have to make dumb, worthless threats with every single comment? It doesn’t make you look strong or intimidating , it just makes you look stupid.
Icarus, I’m serious. I will chop your head off, shit inside and flush it down the toilet. Me and my boys are on our way to your place. See you soon.
This should make the French very proud. One way to slow the refugee flood down is a good old shooting match. Kind of acts like a dam to block said flood.
Maybe both Morocco and Algeria should put more resource into development including possibly renewable energy and less into winding each other up.
Thanks for reporting about it. The Global Revolt website (in Spanish, revueltaglobal) reports Moroccan draft soldiers defecting in massive numbers, with huge penalties for those caught running away.
What amazes me is how a forced decolonization trend is replicated in history. Both Iberian countries (Spain and Portugal) experienced huge changes in 1975 (Death of Franco in Spain and Carnation Revolution in Portugal) which made their positions in Africa unsustainable, leaving before any serious agreement was reached. There you have then the Angolan and Namibian civil wars, on the Portuguese side, and this conflict on the Spaniard side.