- Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Morocco.
- Diplomatic break between Algeria and Morocco is in effect immediately.
- Algeria and Morocco have had strained relations for decades.
Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ramdane Lamamra announced today that the country is cutting diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Morocco.
“Algeria has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Morocco from today,” Lamamra said at a news conference on Tuesday, adding that the diplomatic ties break is due to the neighbor country’s ‘hostile actions’.
“The Moroccan kingdom has never stopped its hostile actions against Algeria,” the minister said.
The minister also cited Morocco’s support for observer status for Israel in the African Union as one of the catalysts for the decision.
Algeria and Morocco have had strained relations for decades, mainly over the issue of Western Sahara.
The cutting of diplomatic relations is effective from Tuesday but consulates in each country will remain open, Lamamra said.
Morocco’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the development.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has called for improved ties with Algeria.
Algeria last week said lethal wildfires were the work of groups it has labelled “terrorist”, one of which it said was backed by Morocco.
The forest fires in Algeria, which broke out on August 9 amid a blistering heatwave, burned tens of thousands of hectares of forest and killed at least 90 people, including more than 30 soldiers.
Algerian authorities have pointed the finger for the fires at the independence movement of the mainly Berber region of Kabylie, which extends along the Mediterranean coast east of the capital, Algiers.
The authorities have also accused the Movement for Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK) of involvement in the lynching of a man falsely accused of arson, an incident that sparked outrage.
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