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[14] Tuat owed religious[15] and tributary allegiance to the Sultans of Morocco, although it was separated from both Algeria and Morocco by a largely uninhabited desert. "Alone at Home" children's play debuts at Sharjah Children's Reading Festival 2023. [8] Morocco officially reported to have suffered 39 dead. Please use the following structure: example@domain.com, Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition. Relations between arch-enemies Morocco and Algeria have hit a new low after three Algerian truck drivers were killed on Monday. [22] The French government refused. 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. When Spain left, Morocco annexed Western Sahara and encouraged thousands of Moroccans to settle there. Countries similar in appearance but heterogeneous in fact. That is what we believe will change the continent, and that is what we report on. The Moroccan UNFP and the Algerian-Berber FFS of At Ahmed both suffered as a result of this. Rabat responded saying the accusations were false and that it regretted the decision. Despite a truce in 1991, both sides have been at loggerheads for years. Algeria said . [23] Terms of this agreement included a reaffirmation of the previously established borders in Algeria's favor and restoration of the status quo. To justify this new break in diplomatic relations, Algiers enumerates a long list of grievances, which goes back to the War of the Sands of 1963, about the delimitation of the border, then evokes the conflict of Western Sahara and ends by denouncing the danger that represents for Algeria and the region the normalization of relations between Israel and Morocco acted in December 2020. Indeed, in a recent meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, which took place on July 13 and 14, 2021 by videoconference from New York, caused a stir. The Western Sahara crisis continues to poison relations between the two states. Three factors contributed to the outbreak of this conflict: the absence of a precise delineation of the border between Algeria and Morocco, the discovery of important mineral resources in the disputed area, and the Moroccan irredentism fueled by the Greater Morocco[9] ideology of the Istiqlal Party and Allal al-Fassi.[10]. Proof of the high level of tension around this issue is that the two neighbors closed their borders in 1994 for security reasons. Algerian Foreign Minister Lamtane Lamamras vehement condemnation was then accompanied by a tacit threat about the risk of the Moroccan monarchy facing a separatist claim in the Rif, an Amazigh/ Berber-speaking region in northern Morocco in recurrent conflict with the central government. In case of abuse. In Algiers, this is not far from being considered a declaration of war. Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. [35] Just years after the victory of their own revolution, many Cubans identified with the Algerians and were eager to support them. Algeria is represented in Morocco by a consulate general in Rabat, and two consulates in Casablanca and Oujda. Clearly, neither Algeria nor Morocco wants an open conflict with inevitably catastrophic consequences for both countries. The war began on the night of October 31, 1954. It was also notable for ushering in the first multinational peacekeeping mission carried out by the Organisation of African Unity. French friends with benefits: African war veterans finally get to go Look at Vietnam. 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, no matter how you look at it, there are no winners anymore. But without strong evidence, I think they would be hard pushed to launch some kind of military attack in response," Gower said. Indeed, shortly after Algerian independence, tensions between the two countries rose. But Algeria's president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has already warned Morocco that "their killings will not go unpunished,"as the state news agency APS reports. Morocco vs Algeria Military Comparison 2022 | Who Would Win? Morocco/Algeria: Western Sahara conflict shows signs of escalation Why is Netflix pouring billions into South Korean shows? 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. Backed by neighbouring Algeria, the Polisario waged a guerrilla war until the . [38] The United Nations received many pleas to issue a ceasefire appeal, but Secretary-General U Thant wanted to allow regional initiatives to pursue a solution. That's why debates like Goku vs. Superman, Link vs. In order to understand what is at stake, it is worth reflecting on several points: - First, for there to be a war, there must be two opposing camps, either alone as countries or in coalition with other allies. Indeed, these tensions could hinder the already fragile regional stability. This period had an impact on Algerian politics, which perceived Europe as a neo-colonialist threat. Though Algerias official press service, Algrie Presse Service, routinely picks up these stories, they are a perplexing mix of fact and fiction. Please contact us in case of abuse. 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The land border between Morocco and Algeria has already been closed since 1994 at the behest of the Algerian regime, after Morocco blamed its secret services for a terrorist attack in a hotel in Marrakech carried out by French citizens of North African descent, imposed visas for Algerian nationals, and expelled those who didn't hold residence ", This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 21:49. [28], Morocco's armed forces were smaller, but comparatively well-equipped and frequently took advantage of their superior firepower on the battlefield. Longer than expected shader compilation time when first launching THE LAST OF US Part I. 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. Until that point, relations between Algeria and Morocco were icy, but cooperative. Here are the most prominent tensions between the two countries over the past decades: Algeria and Morocco confronted each other militarily over a border dispute in the so-called Sand War in October 1963 following Algerias independence on July 5, 1962. Announced two days later in an official statement by the . This diplomatic activism is likely to irritate Algiers and rekindle the competition between the two neighbors. And in a deal brokered by the US, the kingdom agreed to resume diplomatic relations with Israel, a long-standing taboo for Algeria which also happens to be the Polisario Fronts main backer. Especially since Algiers first, followed by Rabat, has been engaged in an arms race Russian for Algeria, Western for Morocco for the past fifteen years, which has not had the virtue of creating a more fraternal atmosphere between the two countries. Rising tensions between the two countries could tarnish the picture in the eyes of the international community, or at least raise its concern. In the case of the Maghreb, both sides have been told by "sources close to power" - the Moroccan Royal Court and the Algerian armed forces - that they do not want war, "but if it is inevitable, they say, they are ready". In this video, we have compared the military of the two countries. The two countries summoned each others ambassadors. [34] The Cubans offloaded their equipment and transported it to the southwestern front by rail. [4] Although they were initially described as an advisory contingent to train the Algerian army, Fidel Castro also authorized their deployment in combat actions to safeguard Algeria's territorial integrity. No official source takes a clear position on the military crusade, either for or against. With hard-hitting investigations, innovative analysis and deep dives into countries and sectors, The Africa Report delivers the insight you need. [39] It was also determined that an Ethiopian and Malian team would observe the neutrality of the demilitarized zone. However, for Algeria, much is alsoat stakeif they can't meet the demand. About: GlobalFirepower.com is an annually-updated, statistics-based website tracking defense-related information of 145 nations and exists as a wholly-independent resource. Welcome to the next big thing; WhoWouldWinAFight.com (WWWAF.com), the best online resource for determining - once and for all - who would win in a fight. 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. [26], The Algerian forces began to retaliate against the Moroccan advances, taking back the ports of Hassi-Beida and Tindjoub on October 8. Algerias hostility toward Morocco since its independence in 1962 is considered a real enigma by many foreign observers. She believes that neither side can really afford to push the envelope too far. Morocco/Algeria: The armed forces behind the Western Sahara conflict All major international players are calling on both countries to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, including a pragmatic and definitive political solution to the situation in Western Sahara based on the proposal for advanced autonomy for the region under international guarantees. On the contrary, it became a socialist country and joined the leading countries of Third Worldism. Progress on the issue has been at a standstill ever since Morocco and the Polisario Front signed a cease-fire agreement in 1991, but Rabat recently scored a few diplomatic wins, such as the United States move to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over the territory in late 2020. 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. During the Cold War, Algeria was much less inclined to liberalism. 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. 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. [39], The ceasefire was almost jeopardized on November 1, when Algerian troops assaulted a village near Figuig and positioned themselves against the town's airport. Rabat accused Algerian intelligence of being behind a bombing in the western Moroccan city of Marrakesh and imposed an entry visa requirement on Algerians. Morocco controls 80% of the Western Sahara, Algeria supports the independence movementPolisario Front. 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. There are expansion plans for that, but they're not due for completion until the end of this year at the absolute earliest," Gower said, adding"there is no back-up plan. [41] The treaty was signed in Mali following a number of preliminary discussions between Hassan and Ben Bella. However, while the countries are similar in many areas, the political anchoring is different between Morocco and Algeria. Morocco and Algeria are on the brink of a destructive war? THE DISPUTE. Dubbed North Africa's new 'Cold War', the tensions between Morocco and neighboring Algeria threaten to escalate and the consequences of this have a lot more to do with Western meddling in the affairs of the two countries than meets the eye. The accumulation of crisis factors between the two countries, the arms race in which they are involved, and the contradictory and largely antagonistic interests of the two countries raise concerns and fears of a possible large-scale armed conflict in North Africa. As for Algeria, it is, also, an important partner of the European Union, but it is deeply marked by its history of a long period of French colonization (1830-1962). These developments were all it took for both countries media outlets to launch into virulent and often insulting smear campaigns against the opposing side. World Cup 2022: Morocco and Algeria: 'Forever brothers' - DW Against the backdrop of the dispute over Western Sahara, relations between Algiers and Rabat have recently deteriorated further. 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. During the Cold War, the late King Hassan II used this conflict as an instrument, drawing a parallel between the Western Sahara conflict and the confrontation between East and West, citing Algerias ideological proximity to the USSR. The GFP country comparison form is provided to allow you to make direct, side-by-side comparisons of any two world powers represented in the GFP database. War in the Sahara: 1963 - JSTOR o The legal limbo in terms of international legality, in which the Western Sahara conflict finds itself, is not the cause of the crisis between Morocco and Algeria, although it is an aggravating factor. If you are reading this message your browser has Javascript disabled. This War Movie Was So Accurate, Guerrilla Movements Used It for Training Morocco and Algeria: The Widening Gap Between Two Neighbours But I will answer your question to the best of my ability. [5] The demilitarized zone was maintained in the meantime, monitored by the OAU's first multinational peacekeeping force. 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. While Tebboune has been upfront that his country would go to war with Morocco, both experts believe that there is actually little reason to fear an armed conflict at the moment. Factbox: Western Sahara, an old conflict on the verge of explosion Though relations between the brotherly countries have never been without bumps in the road, Morocco and Algerias chilly ties have given way to open hostility over the past few months. Syria says Aleppo airport forced to shut after Israeli airstrike; 1 soldier killed, Israel falling far behind its own global warming emissions targets, McCarthy extols ties at Knesset, vows full support for Israeli security against Iran, Government agency warns judicial uncertainty will damage tech ecosystem, Knesset summer session opens with slugging match over judicial overhaul, Levin accuses US administration of cooperating with judicial overhaul opponents. "Algeria has obviously said it can replace the supplies to Spain through the Medgaz pipeline. He is, also, currently teaching Communication Skills and Translation and Interpreting to master students at The Institute for Leadership and Communication Studies ILCS- in Rabat, Morocco and supervising several Fulbright students in areas of religion and culture in Morocco. 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). It was, therefore, disinclined to support Morocco's historical claims to Tindouf and Bechar or the concept of a Greater Morocco. [11] In the Treaty of Lalla Maghnia (March 18, 1845), which set the border between French Algeria and Morocco, it is stipulated that "a territory without water is uninhabitable and its boundaries are superfluous"[12] and the border is delineated over only 165km. 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. [11][42] In January 1969, Algerian President Houari Boumediene made a state visit to Morocco and signed a treaty of friendship with Hassan's government at Ifrane. Tensions between the two neighboring North African countries have been growing, and Algeria's rhetoric points towards an armed conflict. Get full access to The Africa Report on all your devices. Quora - A place to share knowledge and better understand the world Military Strength Comparisons for 2023 - Global Firepower The Supreme Security Council in Algeria, headed by Tebboune, accused Morocco of continuing with its hostile acts and called for bilateral relations to be reviewed and security monitoring on the western borders to be tightened. Military doctrine in both countries is based on the consideration that "in order to carry weight on the international geopolitical stage, it is necessary to have modern, high-quality armed forces". Andrew Wells-Dang on U.S.-Vietnam Relations 48 Years After the War The Western Sahara question has poisoned more than just Moroccan-Algerian relations. The Golden State Warriors will head to the Target Center in Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, March 1. Western Sahara is today the burning issue between Morocco and Algeria. Different capitals allied to both countries are trying: Washington, Moscow, Paris, Beijing, Djeddah, Abu Dhabi. In previous times, for example, during the so-called War of the Sands in 1963, the war clashes in 1976, and in the 1980s in the midst of an armed confrontation between the Moroccan armed forces and the Polisario Front guerrillas, which resulted in thousands of deaths, wounded and prisoners, diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco were maintained. The protest ended with the burning of the Algerian flag. Algerian foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Morocco over what he termed as successive aggressive steps. The conflict was a Cold War theater: Algeria was supported by Egypt and Cuba, while Morocco was endorsed by the United States. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune says in a statement his country is ready for any dialogue but asked Morocco to first clarify to Algeria its position on the speech of the Moroccan representative at the UN regarding the Kabylie region. So far, Morocco has denied any involvement in the bombings that took place in the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara near the border with Mauritania. Morocco condemned provocative acts and transgressions at the opening of a regional football tournament in Algeria, at which the grandson of Nelson Mandela made a speech and called for Western Sahara to be free. [28] The Algerian army had ordered a large number of AMX-13 light tanks from France in 1962,[29] but, at the time of the fighting, only twelve were in service. o Neither country has a fifth column within the enemy. [5] Morocco's invasion proved to be a diplomatic blunder, as the other Arab and African states refused to recognize its border claims. The GFP country comparison form is provided to allow you to make direct, side-by-side comparisons of any two world powers represented in the GFP database. The Algerian Prosecutors Office has opened an investigation to shed light on the materiality and extent of these crimes that threaten international peace and security, as well as human security, according to the official statement from Algiers. 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. In 1940 each of the five territories along the North African coastEgypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Moroccohad a colonial or semi-colonial status under a European power. READ MORE Morocco/Algeria : Tensions on the rise after Algerian show mocks the King. It can also tip over into an all-out conflict if Algeria allows and supports the Polisario Front in going beyond today's military commitments. 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. Algeria responded by closing its land border with Morocco, which is still in force. The sheer loss of life on all sides, from the French days on, the money that could have been spent on human needs, the hatred and civil anguish, all wasted, all down the toilet for nothing -- all the fears and predictions came to naught, and today Vietnam is a . With the breakdown of the status quo, the nearly 50-year-old antagonism between the countries is now playing out on the military front. Morocco is represented in Algeria by an embassy and consulate general in Algiers, as well as two consulates in Oran and Sidi Bel Abbs. We were driven to a senseless war in 1982, when a drunkard sent our armed forces to fight for two insignificant territories in the South AtlanticAlgeria and Morocco have a long feud. But before this last step, there are others through which Algeria or Morocco defends its vital interests. Zunes, Stephen (1995). Sand War - Wikipedia Then-Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika attended the funeral of King Hassan II, who died on July 23, 1999, in Morocco as an attempt to mend the relations between the two Arab countries. According to the investigation by the Forbidden Stories Consortium and Amnesty International, about 6,000 Algerian phone numbers including some belonging to senior political, military, and intelligence officials, including current Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, as well as the current and former army chief of staff were identified as targets of the Pegasus software, which was marketed by the Israeli company NSO in 2019. 'Jeune Afrique' magazine continues to be banned in Algeria, where it, too, has become a casualty of the tensions between the two 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. Letter from Africa: Lamenting the Algeria-Morocco border closure The major events of the decade in neighboring countries the change of Ben Alis regime in Tunisia, the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya, the declaration of independence of Azawad in Mali, in 2012, the French Serval intervention, the attacks of jihadists against the gas site of Ain Amenas in the south in January 2013 are interpreted as evidence of a desire to destabilize the country. Algeria-Morocco relations - Wikipedia [38] On October 29, Hassan and Ben Bella met to negotiate in Bamako, Mali, joined by Emperor Selassie and Mali's President Modibo Keta. 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. Why Algeria cut diplomatic ties with Morocco: and implications for the In this regard, after his election, the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that the authentic blessed Hirak movement has saved Algeria from a real catastrophe, which almost caused the collapse of the State, stressing that the recent demonstrations have unknown organizers and were no longer unified in terms of ideas, demands or slogans.. In 2015, Algeria's military budget was $11 billion, while Morocco's was only $3 billion. . He has taught in the past some courses in universities in the USA, Spain, France, Italy, England and Greece. This was first seen in the territorial dispute that led to the confrontation between the Algerian army and the royal army in 1963 during the Sands War (1963-1964). 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. It is, moreover, the Moroccan proximity to Israel which the Pegasus spying affair has only made more likely that has fuelled pro-government propaganda in Algeria during the fires.