A senior Moroccan diplomat on Monday renewed comments that were cited by Algeria when it cut off relations with Rabat last week, a move that may escalate the spat between the North African neighbours.
Omar Hilale, Morocco’s ambassador to the United Nations, drew an equivalency between disputes in the Moroccan-held territory of Western Sahara and the Kabylie region of Algeria in comments cited by Moroccan news agency MAP.
His comments are likely to provoke a response from Algeria, which said last week it was cutting off diplomatic ties while keeping consulates in the two countries open.
The border between Morocco and Algeria has been closed since 1994 and Algeria has indicated it will divert gas exports from a pipeline running through Morocco, which was due to be renewed later this year.
“Kabylie people… also have the right to self-determination. Why does Algeria deny them this right that it demands for the Moroccans of the Sahara?” Hilale was quoted as saying.
Morocco sees Western Sahara as its own, but the territory’s sovereignty has been disputed by the Polisario Front, an Algeria-backed independence movement, since the colonial power Spain left in the 1970s.
Although the United States backed Morocco’s claims last year in return for Rabat boosting ties with Israel, most countries have said they want a U.N.-backed resolution. More than 20 mostly African and Arab states have opened consulates in Western Sahara, effectively recognising Moroccan sovereignty.
Algeria has accused Morocco of backing MAK, a group whose leadership is based in France that backs independence for the Kabylie region in northeast Algeria, which it blamed for deadly wildfires this month. MAK has denied that.
In cutting ties, Algeria cited Morocco’s position on Western Sahara, Hilale’s previous comments on the Kabylie region and what it said was Morocco’s use of Pegasus spyware against Algerian officials.
Morocco said in response that Algeria was unjustified in cutting ties and that its arguments were “fallacious and even absurd”. It has previously denied possessing Pegasus.
