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☆ Four blasts kill one, injure three in Western Sahara, Moroccan authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RABAT, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Four explosions late on Saturday in the city of Smara in Morocco-controlled Western Sahara killed one man and injured three others, local authorities said. The blasts damaged two houses, authorities said in a statement, without adding further details. Morocco considers Western Sahara its own territory, but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front wants an independent state there. Morocco has said autonomy is the most it can offer to the territory as a political solution. Twenty-eight other countries - mostly African and Arab - have opened consulates in Dakhla or the city of Laayoune, in what Morocco sees as tangible support for its Western Saharan rule.

Persons: Ahmed Eljechtimi, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Western, Polisario Front, UN, Polisario, UN Security, Thomson Locations: RABAT, Smara, Morocco, Western Sahara, Algerian, Polisario, Algeria, U.S, Dakhla, Laayoune

☆ France says controversy over Morocco aid misplaced
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Paris and Rabat have had a difficult relationship in recent years notably over the issue of Western Sahara, which Morocco wants France to recognise as Moroccan. "This is a misplaced controversy," Catherine Colonna told BFM television when asked why Morocco had not made an official request to Paris for urgent assistance despite accepting help from Spain, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. "We are ready to help Morocco. Paris has made 5 million euros ($5.4 million) available for non-governmental organisations operating in Morocco, Colonna said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France 2 earlier on Monday that Rabat, a "brotherly" nation, had the capabilities to cope alone with the rescue efforts.

Persons: Catherine Colonna, BFM, Colonna, Emmanuel Macron, Morocco's King Mohammed VI, Gerald Darmanin, John Irish, Nicolas Delame, David Holmes Organizations: United, France, Polisario, Western, Observatory, Immigration, Thomson Locations: Morocco, France, Paris, Rabat, Western Sahara, Moroccan, Spain, Britain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, It's, Algeria, Algiers

The visit was Staffan de Mistura’s first to the Western Sahara since he was appointed in 2021 to oversee U.N. efforts to guide negotiations that date back more than three decades. Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in 1975, sparking a conflict with the pro-independence Polisario Front. The region is believed to have considerable offshore oil deposits and mineral resources and is slightly larger than the United Kingdom. The United Nations said in a statement leading up to the trip that he “looked forward to further deepening consultations with all concerned on the prospects of constructively advancing the political process on Western Sahara,” and noted that the visit would precede the publication of a Western Sahara report to the Security Council next month. Morocco referenced its preferred plan to grant the region a form of self-governance that falls short of independence.

Persons: De Mistura, “, Joe Biden hasn't, Mistura's, Joshua Harris, Washington's, Harris, Lounès, ” Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Polisario Front, Security, Trump, U.S, Embassy, APS, “, Moroccan Autonomy Initiative Locations: Western, Morocco, Western Sahara, Spanish, Polisario, United Kingdom, United States, Israel, ”, North Africa, Rabat, Algiers, Algeria, Sahara, “ Morocco, Moroccan

CNN —A French Moroccan national has died and another was detained by Algerian authorities after an incident off the coast of Algeria, according to a French diplomatic source. A family member who says he witnessed the incident told local Moroccan media that two men had been shot dead Tuesday by Algerian authorities and one was arrested. Mohamed Kaisi was found in the water by the Moroccan security forces after the incident, he told local media. The source added that French authorities are in contact with the families of those affected and in communication with Moroccan and Algerian authorities. Moroccan media said both men killed are French Moroccan.

Persons: Bilal Kaisi, Abdelali Meshawer, Ismail Snaby, Kaisi, Mohamed Kaisi, Le360 Organizations: CNN, Moroccan, Polisario Locations: Algeria, Moroccan, Morocco, Algerian, Sahara

☆ Morocco has not applied to join BRICS - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Wu Hong/Pool/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsRABAT, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Morocco has not made a formal request to join the BRICS grouping and will not attend its summit in South Africa, state news agency MAP said on Saturday. Citing an unnamed diplomatic source, MAP denied a statement by South Africa's foreign minister Anil Sooklal who said earlier this month Morocco was among the nations seeking to join the bloc. "South Africa allowed itself to speak about Morocco's ties with the BRICS without prior consultation," it said. Morocco would not attend the BRICS meeting in South Africa, MAP said, adding: "South Africa has in fact always shown a primary hostility towards Morocco and has systematically taken negative and dogmatic positions on the Moroccan Sahara issue." Morocco is attached to a non-divisive multilateralism and has good ties with the rest of BRICS member states, it said.

Persons: Wu Hong, Anil Sooklal, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center, REUTERS, South, Polisario, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, India, Xiamen, Fujian Province, Morocco, Africa, Algeria, Western Sahara, Moroccan

Spain's Socialist leader and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, salutes his supporters during the general election, in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2023. Spain has a sticky diplomatic relationship with Morocco over issues including migration, airspace, territorial waters, customs and land borders. Madrid said it regarded Rabat's autonomy proposal for Western Sahara as "serious, credible and realistic". Moroccan media first reported - and welcomed - Sanchez's choice of holiday destination. The site praised Sanchez's closeness to Morocco "although many Spanish politicians reproach him for it", contrasting his stance to that of his political rivals in Madrid.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez, Nacho, Spain's, Sanchez, Podemos, Idoia Villanueva, Villanueva, Miguel Tellado, Vox, David Latona, Angus McDowall, Aislinn Laing, Nick Macfie Organizations: Socialist, REUTERS, Sanchez's Socialists, Polisario, Twitter, People's Party, Onda, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Spanish, Algeria, Polisario, Moroccan, London

☆ Morocco wants normal ties with Algeria, king says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RABAT, July 29 (Reuters) - King Mohammed VI said on Saturday Morocco hopes for a return to normality and open borders with Algeria amid severed diplomatic ties. Algeria unilaterally cut ties with Morocco in 2021 and halted the flow of a gas pipeline to Spain via Morocco. The Western Sahara dispute has been at the heart of worsening ties between the two countries. Morocco considers the territory its own, but the Algerian-backed Polisario front wants to establish an independent state there. "I should like to tell the leaders and people of our sister nation, Algeria, that no evil will ever be done to them, nor will any harm ever come to them from Morocco," king Mohammed said.

Persons: King Mohammed VI, Mohammed said, Abdelmedjid Tebboune, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Alistair Bell Organizations: Morocco, Moroccan, Polisario, Thomson Locations: RABAT, Algeria, Maghreb, Morocco, Spain, Algerian, Western Sahara, Rabat, Tel Aviv

☆ Israel to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over W.Sahara soon -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RABAT, June 8 (Reuters) - Israel will soon announce its support for Morocco's claim of sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, Israeli parliament speaker Amir Ohana said on Thursday during a visit to Rabat. The Algerian-backed Polisario Front demands an independent state in Western Sahara. "I am fully aware of the importance of the recognition of the Moroccan Sahara ... Israel should move towards the goal of recognising the Moroccan Sahara just as our closest ally the U.S. did," Ohana told reporters after talks with his Moroccan counterpart. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Israel was considering backing Morocco on Western Sahara and that the issue was being discussed within the Israeli National Security Council (NSC). A diplomatic source told Reuters that Israeli recognition of Moroccan rule over Western Sahara could lead to a full upgrade of Israeli-Moroccan ties.

Persons: Amir Ohana, Donald Trump, Ohana, Benjamin, Netanyahu, Israel, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Polisario Front, Moroccan, Reuters, Israeli National Security Council, . Security, Thomson Locations: RABAT, Israel, Sahara, Rabat, Algerian, Western Sahara, Moroccan, Moroccan Sahara, U.S, Morocco, Western, Polisario, Spain

Morocco considers Western Sahara its own, but the Algeria-backed Polisario front demands an independent state there. The NSC's head, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, met Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita on Wednesday, Morocco's foreign ministry said without offering further details. At that meeting, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said: "I hope we will meet very soon in a different desert but with the same spirit." Moroccan media reported a possible plan to reconvene in the Western Sahara town of Dakhla. Holding it in coastal Dakhla could pose a challenge for Washington, which has never followed through on Trump's pledge to open a U.S. consulate in Western Sahara.

Persons: Yair Lapid inaugurates, Moroccan Foreign Ministry Mohcine, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Donald Trump, Tzachi Hanegbi, Nasser Bourita, Eli Cohen, Israel's, Abraham, Dan Williams, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Christina Fincher, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Moroccan Foreign Ministry, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, REUTERS, Wednesday, Western, Reuters, National Security Council, National Security, Israeli, Abraham Accords, Moroccan, Washington, Thomson Locations: Rabat, Morocco, REUTERS JERUSALEM, RABAT, Sahara, Western Sahara, Algeria, Polisario, Israel, statecraft, Moroccan, Spain, NEGEV, Abraham, Dakhla, U.S, Laayoune, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain

[1/3] The border fence between Morocco and Spain's north African enclave Melilla is seen along a road, December 11, 2014. Bilateral trade rose to 17 billion euros in 2022, making Spain Morocco's biggest trade partner. The disputes underscore Spain's dependence on Morocco to control migration by Moroccans and sub-Saharan Africans seeking to cross the European Union's southernmost border. Some observers say the drop in migration could prove temporary and that Spain remains too dependent on Morocco. For a sustained fall in migration, Spain needs more cooperation with Morocco when it comes to repatriating illegal Moroccan migrants, said Blanca Garces, senior researcher in migration at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs.

[1/3] Migrants run towards the fence separating Morocco from Spain, after thousands of migrants swam across the border, in Ceuta, Spain, May 19, 2021. Spanish exports to Algeria fell 41% to 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) in the January-November 2022 period compared with a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Industry. State-owned railway operators Renfe and Adif are working with their Moroccan counterpart to develop new train lines, which could mean 6 billion euros of business. A joint declaration made no mention of Spain's enclaves in Morocco although it reiterated Spain's new position on Western Sahara. Both countries agreed to cooperate on repatriations of illegal migrants.

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