Morocco-Algeria Border Remains Closed After 26 Years, Tensions Persist Over Western Sahara

"We have no problem with Morocco, and if there is one, let it come and raise it," report El Khabar and Le Soir d’Algérie, echoing the response of the new Algerian president, when asked about his country’s relations with Morocco. This shows that despite the unifying Raï of Cheb Khaled, the discords, although hidden, still exist between the two countries that oppose each other on the world diplomatic scene. The Sahara issue is the reason for this.

Rabat accuses Algiers of financing and arming the separatists of the Polisario Front, who have lost their grip since the ceasefire pronounced by the UN in 1991. And since then, we have witnessed the traditional blocking of coordination meetings between the African Union (which recognizes the SADR) and the UN, which only accepts it as an observer, with the result on the ground that the border remains closed between the two countries.

This situation, described as a thaw by the European Union ambassador to Algeria, John O’Rourke, is considered a mere exercise in style on the part of the Algerian power.

On several occasions, King Mohammed VI has urged Algeria to reopen the borders. The Algerian president seems favorable to this invitation, he who has conveyed his congratulations to the Sovereign, on the 21st anniversary of his accession to the throne. Thus, we can say that the tense relations are giving way to a tempered and conducive framework for the reopening of the borders.