A TIMELINE OF THE

TURBULENT MOROCCAN-
ALGERIAN RELATIONS

Presented by : Nassim Mzaourou

 OUTLINE

• Introduction

• The most prominent stages of the recurring tensions between the two
countries

• Recent Algerian hostile actions

• Conclusion
THE MOST PROMINENT STAGES OF
THE RECURRING TENSIONS
BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
 OCTOBER 1963

• Algeria and Morocco militarily confronted each

other over a border dispute in the so-called Sand
War in October 1963 following Algeria's
independence on July 5, 1962.
• Algeria said it repelled Moroccan ambitions for
land on the border, while Rabat responded
saying it retaliated against the border
provocations of the Egyptian-backed Algerian
army.
 1969

• The two countries signed a two-phase

border demarcation and good-
neighborly treaty in 1969 and 1972 as
a culmination of the end of the war
and the border dispute.
• The first 1969 treaty was held in
Ifrane for cooperation and good-
neighborly.
 1972

• The second 1972 treaty was held in

Rabat for border demarcation.
 1976
• Rabat announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Algiers in protest of the latter’s
decision to join a number of mostly African countries recognizing the unilateral decision of the
Polisario Front to establish the so-called Sahrawi Arab Republic.
 1988

• The two countries signed an agreement to

normalize relations and restore diplomatic ties
following Saudi mediation. The leaders of both
countries exchanged visits as a testament to
normalization.
 AUGUST 1994
• Rabat accused the Algerian intelligence of being behind a terrorist bombing in the city of
Marrakesh and imposed an entry visa requirement on Algerians.
• Algeria responded by closing its land border with Morocco which is still in force to date.
 1999

• Then-Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika

attended the funeral of King Hassan II, who died
on July 23, 1999, in Morocco as an attempt to
mend the relations between the two Arab
countries. However, no significant breakthrough
was achieved.
 JUNE 2005
• The bilateral relations warmed up as Rabat was preparing for a visit by the then-Algerian Prime
Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and his delegation to Rabat to sign several agreements. But the visit
was canceled at the last minute with Rabat saying the time was not right, a gesture Algeria
protested as an insult.
 NOV. 1, 2013

• Moroccan youth organized a protest in front of the

Algerian Consulate in Casablanca against
Bouteflika's statements on human rights in the
Sahara region which ended with the burning of the
Algerian flag.
• The two countries exchanged summoning
ambassadors. Algeria also protested a court ruling
that sentenced the man accused of burning the flag
to two months in prison.
 MAY 2020
• The Moroccan consul in the western Algerian city of Oran called Algeria an "enemy country,"
prompting the Algerian Foreign Ministry to summon the Moroccan ambassador and to declare
the implicated diplomat "persona non grata."
 JULY 15, 2021
• Morocco's Ambassador to the UN Omar Hilale calls during a meeting of non-aligned countries
for the "independence of the Kabyle people" in Algeria.
• Algeria summoned its ambassador from Rabat for consultations and asked for clarifications.
 JULY 23, 2021
• The Algerian Foreign Ministry protests against the authorities of some countries, especially
Morocco, using the Israeli spy program Pegasus against Algerian officials and citizens. Rabat
denied the accusations but Algiers demanded that the former provides evidence.
 JULY 31, 2021
• Moroccan King Mohammed VI urges Algeria to put aside the differences between the two
neighbors and open a new page in their relations.
 AUG. 8, 2021
• Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune says in a statement his country is ready for any
dialogue, but asked Morocco to first respond to Algeria's request for clarifications regarding
Rabat's position on the speech of its representative at the UN regarding the Kabylie region.
 AUG. 11, 2021
• During his visit to Morocco, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid expressed his country's concern
over Algeria's role in the region and its great rapprochement with Iran. Algeria accused Rabat of
inciting Tel Aviv against it.
 AUG. 18, 2021
• The Supreme Security Council in Algeria, headed by Tebboune, accused Morocco of continuing
with its “hostile acts" and called on the bilateral relations to be reviewed and the security
monitoring on the western borders to be tightened.
 AUG. 24, 2021
• Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra announced the severance of diplomatic relations
with Morocco over what he termed as “successive aggressive steps." Rabat responded saying the
accusations were “false” and that it regreted the decision.
• “When ties are severed, this is followed by a review of all relations, and checking what is to be
canceled and what is to be kept," Lamamra said.

• Relations between the two neighboring countries have strained for decades against the backdrop
of the disputed Sahara region between Rabat and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
 RECENT ALGERIAN HOSTILE ACTIONS

• Foreign Minister Ramtan Laamamara justified the decision of cutting diplomatic ties with
Morocco by accusing it of “supporting” terrorist organizations in causing the wildfires that broke
out recently in Algeria, (Wildfires in the Tizi Ouzou region are a common occurrence, with one
resident describing them as occurring “every year”.)
• As wildfires engulfed much of northern Algeria, King Mohammed VI made good on his pledge
of standing together in addressing shared challenges by instructing his government to mobilize
two firefighting aircrafts and a disaster relief team to fly to Algeria’s rescue. Yet Algeria declined
Morocco’s offer, preferring instead to request the paid help of France and Spain.
 RECENT ALGERIAN HOSTILE ACTIONS

• Algeria’s claim that Morocco is colluding with the “Zionist entity” and the Movement for the
Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK) to destabilize Algeria.
• Both the Algerian media's campaign of insults against Morocco’s King and the expulsion
of Moroccan farmers from the Arjat oases last March seem chiefly aimed at pushing Morocco to
the limits of its patience.
• Algeria’s foreign minister also accused the Moroccan government of colluding with the “Zionist
entity” to destabilize Algeria in its decision to renew ties with Israel. It is likewise telling that
Algeria has lashed out at Morocco for re-normalizing relations with Israel while remaining
conspicuously silent about the similar decisions made by UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan.
 RECENT ALGERIAN HOSTILE ACTIONS

• Algeria was eager to have itself seen as a staunch defender of the Sahrawi people's right to self-
determination while denying 11 million Kabyles ethnically Amazigh Algerians the very rights it
champions in the Sahara.
 CONCLUSION
• Algeria may have shot itself in the foot by placing the Moroccan-Algerian rivalry at the center of
global news cycles. This new bout of tension between the two countries will certainly push many
in the international community to dig deeper into the underlying reasons behind the latest
developments in relations.

• What Algeria suggests through this decision is that it wants unchallenged hegemony in North
Africa which necessitates unfettered access to the Atlantic Ocean in southern Morocco and an
assertive presence in African geopolitics. However, this requires catching up with Morocco’s
continental strategic depth, or altogether spoiling Rabat’s African successes.
 THAT’S ALL.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION !