UN Calls on Morocco and Algeria to Engage in Dialogue

The UN has joined the rest of the world in calling for an end to the Moroccan-Algerian crisis. 

In a statement Wednesday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric urged the two countries to find a mutual solution to the crisis. Dujarric stated the “Secretary-General of the United Nations encourages the two neighboring countries to find a way to move forward” from the current tensions. He emphasized the need for regional stability, and highlighted the necessity of maintaining “peace and security” in the Maghreb.

The UN statement echoes calls from several nations, as well as regional bodies such as the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Algeria and Morocco, both UN and OIC members, continue to be locked in a political dispute after Algeria announced it would sever ties with its western neighbor. It also announced an increase in border security along its boundaries with Morocco. 

The recent escalation is due to  Algeria’s unproven claims that Morocco “helped” two groups with anti-government sentiments ignite the wildfires that recently devastated northern Algeria. 

The regional implications of the Algeria-Morocco political freeze has had many concerned, both regionally and worldwide. France, which shares a long-standing history - colonial and post-colonial - with both countries, has urged the two neighbors to engage in dialogue to settle their issues. 

France, and many other countries in the West, depend on both North African countries as critical allies in preventing irregular migration and combating terror groups. Countries such as France, Spain, and the US, have repeatedly commended Morocco as a key military ally and an example of stability, peace, and effective counter-terrorism in the MENA region. Similarly, after France declared its intentions to disengage its forces from the Sahel, Algeria was rumored to be interested in engaging its troops in the region to assert itself as a regional leader. 

With similar goals of regional stability and peace, Morocco and Algeria’s partnership would be jointly beneficial to the Maghreb region, many observers have argued. But with years of political disputes and mutual distrust, it is unclear how the two countries would transcend their political divergences - and what that could mean for the future of peace in North Africa.

Source: Morocco World News.