Tebboune accuses: « Morocco has always been the aggressor

In an interview with the French magazine Le Point, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed that his country would not open its borders with Morocco, which according to him « attacks daily » its eastern neighbour, especially on the Western Sahara issue. He said that « Morocco has always been the aggressor ».

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed his support for the Polisario Front on the Western Sahara issue. In return, he called on Morocco to « respect international law » and « the right to self-determination of the Saharawis », adding that the movement « faces increasing difficulties to contain its youth ».

This interview granted by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to the magazine Le Point is published in a context marked by diplomatic tensions in the region. It comes just after the return of Brahim Ghali to Algeria, who was visited yesterday by the Algerian President after a hospital stay in Spain.

This hospitalization on the sly in the Iberian kingdom under a false identity of Mohammed Ben Bettouch has accelerated the crisis between Rabat and Madrid, where the Polisario leader is prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Abdelmadjid Tebboune also returned to the recognition by former US President Donald Trump of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The Algerian head of state questioned « how one can think of presenting an entire land to a king with all its inhabitants ». « Where is the respect for peoples? This recognition means nothing, » he said. On the economic side, the Algerian President accused pressure groups and « Moroccan influence » of « criminalising » business with Algeria.