Wed 25 August 2021:
Algeria has severed diplomatic ties with Morocco, according to Foreign Minister Ramdane Lamamra, who accused his neighbor of “hostile actions.”
Morocco and Algeria have had strained relations for decades, mainly over the issue of Western Sahara.
“The Moroccan kingdom has never stopped its hostile actions against Algeria,” he said.
The cutting of diplomatic relations is effective from Tuesday but consulates in each country will remain open, Lamamra said.
Morocco’s Foreign Ministry could not be immediately reached for comment.
King Mohammed VI has called for improved ties with Algeria.
Algerian authorities have blamed the fires on the independence movement in Kabylie, a predominantly Berber province that extends along the Mediterranean coast east of the capital, Algiers.
Authorities have also accused the Movement for Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK) of being involved in the lynching of a man wrongfully accused of arson, which sparked uproar.
“The incessant hostile acts carried out by Morocco against Algeria have necessitated the review of relations between the two countries,” a presidency statement said last week.
It further stated that “security measures on the western borders” with Morocco would be “intensified.”
Since 1994, the Algerian-Moroccan border has been closed.
Algeria supports the Polisario movement, which seeks independence for Western Sahara, which Morocco claims as its own.
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