Relations between arch-enemies Morocco and Algeria have hit a new low after three Algerian truck drivers were killed on Monday. So far, Morocco has denied any involvement in the bombings that took place in the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara near the border with Mauritania. Morocco controls 80% of the Western Sahara, Algeria supports the independence movement Polisario Front. The killing of the three drivers on a desert road is the latest peak in a series of growing tensions between the two Maghreb states that support opposite sides of the dispute over the Western Sahara territory, a former Spanish colony. In November last year, then-US president Donald Trump had recognized Morocco's claim over the phosphate-rich Western Sahara as part of a quid pro quo for Rabat's normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 05, 2021 20:07 UTC