Experts: Morocco-Algeria War "Highly Unlikely" Despite Tensions, Says Think Tank

A military confrontation between Morocco and Algeria remains "highly unlikely, at least in the immediate future," says Federica Saini Fasanotti, an expert at the GIS, a think tank based in Liechtenstein specializing in geopolitics and military history, in an article published on the think tank’s website. To support her statement, she notes that Europe is committed to peace in a region already shaken by the war in Libya, and that "a military conflict between Morocco and Algeria would also harm energy agreements and benefit no one."

While Algeria "has influence through its gas and oil," Rabat "has its own through its control over migration flows" to Europe, the expert points out. According to her, Algeria’s priority is to focus on "its own repositioning on the world stage as a major energy exporter." It is "unfortunately unlikely that Algeria will focus more on its foreign relations, particularly with European countries, by assessing the rivalry with Morocco as useless and ultimately counterproductive," says Federica Saini Fasanotti.

Regarding Morocco’s willingness to end the migration phenomenon through the 2003 law favorable to Europe on immigration, the expert notes that the fight has not been "very successful, partly due to the lack of Algerian support."