Morocco and Algeria are in fierce competition for economic and military control of the Maghreb. The two countries have been in a low-intensity conflict for years, with the Sahara issue as the backdrop.
After extending the 50 km defense wall to the east in 2021 to secure Touizgui in the Assa-Zag province and complete the security system to the east, the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) have deployed heavy artillery in the same area.
Activists have called on social media to boycott a Spanish company that displays a map of Morocco amputated from its Sahara.
The Mauritanian authorities have decided to increase customs duties on Moroccan products arriving on its territory via the Guerguerat border crossing.
More than three years after the normalization of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel, especially the military rapprochement, in exchange for the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, continues to frighten Algeria, which unilaterally broke off its ties with the kingdom in August 2021.
Mohamed Ouzzine, Secretary General of the Popular Movement, said he was proud of Morocco’s diplomatic advances on the Sahara issue, not hesitating to attack Algeria on this issue.
The Polisario has threatened the organizers of the Morocco Desert Challenge, an event scheduled from December 27 to January 10, 2024, with stages in the Sahara, including a passage through El Guerguerate, where the Moroccan army had forcibly dislodged separatists.
After the attacks carried out south of Aousserd in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region and in the city of Es-Semara by the Polisario, an expert in international relations believes that the conflict in the Sahara "will undoubtedly see new developments".
In a television interview, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy reiterated his support for the Moroccanness of the Sahara . He also welcomed Spain’s position on the issue.
The Polisario, protected by Algeria, is intensifying its threats against Morocco. After the attacks in Es-Smara , the separatist movement threatens to target other cities in the Sahara.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of José Manuel Albares, has removed a section dedicated to the Maghreb and the Middle East from its website. Previously, this part included Spain’s commitment to self-determination in the Sahara .
Martine Magisson, her daughter Nadège Zahraoui, and her friend Chloé Deliau participated in the solidarity trek " Rose Trip Maroc " which took place at the end of October in the Moroccan Sahara to raise awareness about breast cancer. The three trekkers share their testimony on the epidemic that broke out in the camp where they were housed.