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After a temporary lull, he shadows of thunderstorm clouds are hovering over relations between Morocco and Algeria. In 2019, Algeria was busy managing its domestic affairs and the Hirak protests, which began on February 16, 2019, six days after Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy for a fifth presidential term in a signed statement.
In the meantime, the Kingdom preferred to silence official voices criticizing developments in Algeria, including former president of the General Confederation of Enterprises of Morocco (CGEM) Salaheddine Mezouar.
Despite all these efforts, things got stormy by 2020. The newly elected president has made Morocco his main target. President Abdelmajid Tebboune, indeed embarked on a «crusade» against the presence of Morocco in Western Sahara in interviews, on TV and during international meeting appearances. On February 20, and during an African Union summit, Tebboune referred to the Sahara issue as «a matter of decolonization».
A month earlier, the Algerian president slammed African countries for opening consulates in the Sahara, threatening that his country would «not sit idly by». However, his threats were ignored as 19 countries so far have opened diplomatic representations in the Sahara. The number is expected to expand during year 2021.
Over the months, tension between Morocco and Algeria erupted once again. This time it was because of a May decree, allowing the construction of military barracks near the Algerian border. Tebboune publicly denounced the announcement. «Until now, the escalation was verbal but we see that our Moroccan brothers are moving to another form of escalation», he told France24 on July 4.
Tebboune’s latest statement against the Kingdom dates back to October 10. Speaking to senior army officials, the head of the Algerian state appeared very upset against the mobilization of Morocco on the regional scene, in particular on the subject of Libya and Mali.
Guerguerate and the US decision
After testing positive for Covid-19, President Tebboune was unable to assume his functions and denounce the operation of the Royal Armed Forces in Guerguerate. The Algerian army assumed this mission and launched a media war against Morocco. Its media El Jeich has described the military operation led by the Royal Armed forces to secure the flow of goods and people in the Guerguerate border crossing as an «aggression».
«The deterioration of the regional situation along our border strip and the threat that certain enemy parties have posed to the security of the region in recent times, concern us and we must be ready to face it», the magazine read.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs was called in as a backup. Following the intervention of Morocco in Guerguerate, Sabri Boukadoum was strongly requested to defend the positions of the Polisario with Algeria's international partners: the European Union, Russia, China and the United States. A mission which ended in failure since none of his counterparts condemned the operation.
The Trump administration’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara and the resumption of diplomatic ties between the Kingdom and Israel have further irritated the Algerian powers that be, which fear an eventual snowball effect, especially in Europe, South America and Asia. As for Africa, the process has already started. The states that have inaugurated consulates in Laâyoune and Dakhla do not belong only to the sphere of Morocco's traditional allies but include countries such as Zambia, which once received Brahim Ghali.
These tensions between Morocco and Algeria are set to intensify. The battle will be fierce within the African Union, at the UN but also in the United States where Algiers has already mobilized its allies in order to convince the Biden administration to reverse Donald Trump's decision. It appears that year 2021 will probably not be full of clear skies when it comes to relations between the two neighboring countries.
