US Arms Deal with Morocco Raises Tensions in North Africa

Morocco is one of the African countries with old Soviet material, including T-72 tanks familiar to the United States, which has offered lucrative deals as part of the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian forces. Morocco, seeing an opportunity to modernize its own arsenal and potentially secure advanced American armaments, accepted the agreement, reveals a report from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. However, an affair of arms delivery to Ukraine unbeknownst to Morocco almost derailed the agreement.

In 2023, 130 T-72B tanks had been transported to the Czech Republic for modernization as part of a contract with the Czech company Excalibur Army. But Morocco only received 56. There were therefore 74 tanks remaining in the Czech Republic, of which 20 were transferred to Ukraine in violation of the contract. A violation of the contract denounced by Moroccan officials. Since then, the incident has been closed. Morocco has been assured by the United States that it will directly provide the country with additional tanks. Significant compensation for this gift is planned. Morocco expects to receive the latest Abrams (M1A2 SEPv3) tanks from the United States. This should significantly upgrade its aging fleet.

Morocco’s role in supplying Ukraine could trigger tensions in North Africa, analyzes Morocco World News. Its neighbor, Algeria, a long-time Russian customer, which unilaterally broke off diplomatic relations with the kingdom in 2021 due to the differences that oppose them on the Sahara issue, sees Moroccan aid in a bad light. This raises the fear of a war between the two neighboring countries at a time when North Africa is already facing a multitude of challenges, with instability in Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Chad, Mali and Niger. Another possible consequence: to counter the United States, which is keen on Ukraine’s victory, Russia, which does not approve of Morocco’s supply of Ukraine, "could exploit the situation to further destabilize the region," North Africa being "a potential alternative energy source for the West," it concludes.