Tag Archives: Morocco

The two groups decry the diplomatic rift and ask the North African rivals to resolve the conflict. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Arab League have called for “dialogue” to resolve the diplomatic dispute between Algeria and Morocco. Algeria on Tuesday said it had cut diplomatic relations with …

Algeria announced on Tuesday that it was officially severing ties with neighbouring Morocco “starting today”, after months of tensions between the two countries. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday evening. “It has been proven that the (Moroccan) kingdom has not ceased its …

Two humanitarian rescue ships pulled 394 migrants from a dangerously overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean overnight on Sunday in an operation lasting about six hours, a Reuters witness said. The German and French NGO ships Sea-Watch 3 and Ocean Viking rescued the migrants in Tunisian waters 68 km (42 …

Researchers find North Africa’s oldest Stone Age hand-axe manufacturing site, dating back 1.3 million years. Archaeologists in Morocco have announced the discovery of North Africa’s oldest Stone Age hand-axe manufacturing site, dating back 1.3 million years, an international team reported on Wednesday. The find pushes back by hundreds of thousands …

The Moroccan government used Israeli malware to spy on French President Emmanuel Macron’s phone calls, Le Monde has reported. More than a dozen other French politicians were reportedly targeted in a scheme denied by Morocco. Hours after Paris prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations that Morocco’s intelligence agencies used Israeli …

The Biden administration has transferred its first detainee out of the notorious military prison at Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon said. Abdul Latif Nasir, 56, will be repatriated to his home country Morocco from the offshore detention facility. Nasir had been cleared for release in 2016 after a review board determined …

The Biden administration on Monday transferred a detainee out of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility for the first time, sending a Moroccan man back home years after he was recommended for discharge. The Moroccan prisoner, Abdullatif Nasser, who’s in his mid-50s, was cleared for repatriation by a review board in …

The Algerian foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to Morocco on Sunday and hinted at possible further measures in the latest flare-up of tension between the North African neighbors over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The move was linked to comments from the Moroccan envoy to the United Nations on …

Dozens of migrants scaled a fence and crossed the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Monday, just weeks after a similar crisis that saw thousands cross the frontier and clash with security. Migrants routinely try to enter Melilla and Ceuta, Spanish territories near the Moroccan border …

A Spanish customs agent died Sunday after a customs agency helicopter crashed into the sea while chasing suspected drug smugglers off Spain’s southern coast, officials said. Two other customs agents who were also on board the chopper when it went down in waters near Sotogrande, a coastal town near Gibraltar, …

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Tuesday her government is considering including Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s enclaves in North Africa, fully in Europe’s passport-free Schengen area. Currently, Moroccans from the towns surrounding the enclaves can enter without a visa but need one to travel by sea or air …

The leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, Brahim Ghali, returned to Algeria on Wednesday after spending more than a month in hospital in Spain – a stay which triggered a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco. “He arrived safe and sound,” said Jalil Mohamed, the Polisario Front’s spokesman in …

Spain’s High Court on Tuesday turned down a request for Western Sahara independence leader Brahim Ghali to be taken into custody, saying the plaintiffs in a war crimes case against him had failed to provide evidence he had committed any crime. Ghali’s presence in Spain has infuriated Morocco, which says …

Tensions between Morocco and Spain have escalated, with each side accusing the other of violating good ‘neighborliness’ in a dispute triggered by the Western Sahara territorial issue. Last month, the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta saw an unprecedented influx of migrants crossing from Morocco. That was seen as retaliation …

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Morocco’s actions during a crisis two weeks ago when thousands of would-be migrants crossed into Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta as unacceptable and an assault on national borders. Asked at a news conference on Monday about comments by the Moroccan foreign minister, who …

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Morocco of failing to protect its borders on Tuesday after thousands of migrants crossed into the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla last week. “The neighbour (Morocco) needs to control its borders as well, and this did not happen,” Sanchez added. “We’re talking …

Morocco on Saturday urged Spain to open an investigation into the circumstances of a Western Sahara independence leader’s arrival in the country for medical treatment and explain its findings to Rabat. Madrid should explain “the conditions, circumstances, and connivances that led to the fraudulent entry of this person using false …

More than 6,500 migrants out of the approximately 8,000 who had entered Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta earlier this week have been sent back to Morocco, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Friday. Marlaska told the Radio COPE the situation was now “normal” compared with the previous days …

The Spanish government has deployed troops to Ceuta to patrol the border with Morocco after thousands of migrants swam into the north African enclave, a source from the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. Soldiers will patrol the border along with Spanish police. “This starts immediately,” the source said, without specifying …

More than 80 migrants swam to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighboring Morocco on Monday, Spanish police said. The migrants, including some minors, set off in the early hours of Monday from beaches a few kilometers south of Ceuta and were detained when they entered the Spanish territory, a …