As Mali faces a new wave of terrorist attacks, its Prime Minister has indirectly accused Algeria of financing extremist groups operating in the Sahel. Neighboring countries like Mauritania and Senegal are also vulnerable to the growing spread of these movements.
Can Morocco succeed in having the Polisario Front listed as a terrorist organization by the United States? As tensions escalate in the Sahara and the Sahel, Rachid Benlabbah, a Moroccan academic and specialist in Sahara and Sahel studies at the University Institute of African, Euro-Mediterranean, and Ibero-American Studies in Rabat, examines the legal, political, and security dynamics of Morocco's diplomatic offensive against a militarized Polisario and a weakened Algeria.
Algeria is more isolated than ever from its Sahelian neighbors. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—united under the Confederation of Sahel States—have decided to recall their ambassadors from Algiers in response to the Algerian army's downing of a Malian Akinci drone.
The dismantled terrorist cell, last week, was linked to ISIS's Sahel branch, which sought to establish a Moroccan presence. The group of 12 members, aged 18-40, received direct orders from the Sahelian «External Operations Committee» to plan and execute attacks.