Morocco Warns of ISIS Threat in Maghreb, Urges Algeria to Cooperate on Counterterrorism

"The Islamic State is seeking to expand its spread in the Maghreb region, the Sahel region and in Africa. [...] There must be close cooperation between countries, because it is not possible to fight terrorism without intensifying cooperation between all countries. [...] All countries cooperate with us except for the neighboring Algeria," said Cherkaoui Habboub in an interview with the television channel Al Shark. According to him, this lack of cooperation between Morocco and Algeria can jeopardize the security of the two countries. Insofar as the current leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Adnane Abou Al Walid Al Sahraoui, who leads the refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, is "originally from the city of Laâyoune and is a member of the Polisario Front."

"Before his organization of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara," Adnane Abou Al Walid Al Sahraoui "was the spokesman for the Organization for Unification and the Jihad Movement in West Africa, which was behind the kidnapping of three people working for the United Nations humanitarian organization in coordination with the Polisario Front in 2011," stressed the head of the BCIJ, recalling that the Sahraoui had carried out several terrorist operations targeting Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso between 2015 and 2020. "The Polisario has links with terrorist organizations, as long as there is Adnane Abou Al Walid who is affiliated with it and as long as there are a hundred of its members who have previously joined and are involved with Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb," affirmed Cherkaoui Habboub.

For its part, "Algeria considers that the security and stability of its neighbors are directly linked to its own security," said Said Chengriha, the chief of staff of the Algerian People’s National Army (ANP) during the visit of the chief of staff of the French armed forces, General François Lecointre in Algeria. And to add: "Aware of the extent of the danger that terrorism poses to territorial security and stability, Algeria has not hesitated to present initiatives and offer its assistance to its neighbors to coordinate efforts on the basis of a common vision through the Operational Staff Committee (Cemoc) initiative."