Feed MRSS-S magreb_a, english.elpais.com en-us https://english.elpais.com Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:48:30 GMT https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-13/western-sahara-conflict-underpins-morocco-and-algerias-selective-silence-on-attack-against-iran.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:48:30 GMT https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-13/western-sahara-conflict-underpins-morocco-and-algerias-selective-silence-on-attack-against-iran.html Juan Carlos Sanz Rabat and Algiers have avoided condemning the US and Israeli strikes, amid ongoing talks over the African territory in a dispute that’s about to turn 50 years old Rabat and Algiers have avoided condemning the US and Israeli strikes, amid ongoing talks over the African territory in a dispute that’s about to turn 50 years old Irán Rabat Magreb Mauritania África JALAL MORCHIDI (EFE) Western Sahara conflict Police deployment in Morocco to prevent a protest against the US and Israeli attack on Iran, on March 1. Police deployment in Morocco to prevent a protest against the US and Israeli attack on Iran, on March 1. <p>Morocco and Algeria are observing the U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran through the lens of the Western Sahara conflict. Washington’s latest <a href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-05/us-exploring-an-economic-solution-to-western-sahara-conflict-after-50-years-of-stalemate.html" target="_self" rel="" title="https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-05/us-exploring-an-economic-solution-to-western-sahara-conflict-after-50-years-of-stalemate.html">attempt to resolve the long-running dispute</a> over the former Spanish colony, through a round of direct dialogue launched last month in Madrid, is conditioning Rabat and Algiers’ response to the escalating conflict engulfing the Middle East.</p><p><a href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-13/western-sahara-conflict-underpins-morocco-and-algerias-selective-silence-on-attack-against-iran.html" target="_blank">Seguir leyendo</a></p><h3>Fifty years of stalemate</h3><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(25, 25, 25);">The dispute over Western Sahara has poisoned diplomatic relations in the Maghreb region since 1975, when Spain abandoned what was once its 53rd province following the Green March, the massive mobilization of tens of thousands of Moroccan civilians promoted by Hassan II, father of the current monarch, during the death throes of </span><u style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(1, 108, 162);"><a href="https://english.elpais.com/spain/2025-02-09/ignorance-and-justification-for-franco-on-tiktok-the-cocktail-that-pushes-young-people-towards-historical-revisionism.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_self">dictator Francisco Franco</a></u><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(25, 25, 25);"> in Spain.</span></p>