The Algerian government on Sunday recalled its ambassador in Morocco for consultations as a new diplomatic spat broke out between the two countries over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, reported Reuters.
The decision was taken after Omar Hilale, Morocco’s envoy to the United Nations, expressed his support for self-determination for Algeria’s Kabylie region, a stronghold of the country’s Amazigh (Berber) minority. He had suggested the Algerian government should not deny that while supporting self-determination for Western Sahara.
Hilale made the remarks in a note to the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement at United Nations headquarters in New York. The note stated that “the valiant Kabyle people deserve, more than any other, to fully enjoy their right to self-determination”.
The comments sparked anger among the Algerians defending the country’s territorial unity.
In response, the Algerian foreign ministry said Morocco had publicly and explicitly extended support to an alleged right to self-determination of the Kabyle people. It said that the Moroccan envoy’s remarks added to the ongoing row between the two countries over the Western Sahara, which is claimed by both Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Last week, the Algerian government called on Morocco to clarify its position on the matter.
Notably, the Algerian government is against any calls for independence in the north-eastern region. It classed the pro-independence Movement for Self-determination of Kabylie, known by its French acronym MAK, as a terrorist organization in May.
The MAK movement has organized a number of massive marches in the cities and villages of Kabylie over the last few years demanding independence from Algeria.
Long tense relations between Algeria and Morocco have deteriorated as the conflict over Western Sahara flared after a long ceasefire. Land borders between the two countries have been closed since the early 1990s over security issues between Algiers and Rabat.
