After a tour of several countries in Southern Africa, the Polisario Front is once again turning to South Africa. Its foreign affairs chief made an urgent trip to Paris to deliver a message to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, containing new proposals for resolving the Sahara issue.
The assault of 14-year-old Algerian-American Wassim on the sidelines of the Morocco-Netherlands World Cup match in Boston has spiraled from a fan-zone clash into a politicized media storm in Algeria. While Algiers says it is following the case closely, several claims blaming Moroccan supporters remain unconfirmed by US authorities.
As tensions worsen in the Sahel, the Sahara issue is now seen by several capitals as a central factor in regional stability, says researcher Mohamed Ahmed Kane. In his view, this shift is strengthening support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative and once again bringing Algeria’s responsibility for the situation in the Tindouf camps to the forefront.