Algeria closes airspace to Moroccan planes

Algeria will immediately close its airspace to all Moroccan aircraft and aircraft registered in Morocco. That’s what the president announced.

On August 24, Algeria had already severed diplomatic contacts with Morocco. This happened after months of rising tensions between the two countries. The border between the two countries has been closed since 1994.

One of the current points of contention is the stay in Algeria of rebel leader Brahim Ghali of the Polisario Front independence movement in Western Sahara. Morocco, which governs most of Western Sahara, is strongly opposed to this independence drive.

Morocco’s normalization of its diplomatic relationship with Israel has also increased tensions with Algeria. Algeria supports the Palestinians.