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The Western Sahara conflict reignites
For three decades, a UN-monitored ceasefire has kept a fragile peace in the disputed Western Sahara. Now a row over a remote desert truck stop is prompting talk of a return to war. The pro-independence Polisario Front declared the ceasefire over on Friday, after...
Western Sahara: Clashes erupt between Morocco and the Polisario Front
The pro-independence Polisario Front said Saturday that clashes are continuing in the disputed territory of Western Sahara after the Moroccan army launched an operation in the buffer zone on its southern border. "Fighting is continuing after the crime committed by...
Tensions escalate in the Western Sahara: Morocco and Polisario brace for confrontation
Polisario Front declares end of truce The pro-independence Polisario Front declared a three-decade-old ceasefire in the disputed Western Sahara was over on Friday after Morocco launched an operation to reopen the road to neighbouring Mauritania. The Polisario, which...
Podcast: Covid-19 in the Maghreb region as of mid-November 2020
In this brief podcast recorded on 12 November 2020, MEA Risk's Arezki Daoud provides an update on the Coronavirus in the Maghreb region. The state of the Covid-19 epidemic in the Maghreb looks rather bleak as we are reaching the mid-point of November 2020. As in...
Morocco announces upcoming launch of mystery Covid vaccine
Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Monday endorsed a decision by scientists to launch a nationwide vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus, an official statement said. It was not clear however what vaccine would be used or when the campaign would start,...
Economy: Drought threatens Morocco’s agriculture
Parched fields stretch as far as the eye can see on plains overlooking Agadir in southwestern Morocco, as precious water resources are diverted from the drought-hit agricultural heartland to households. "These trees are nearly 20 years old -- they're dead, there is no...
Morocco: IS-linked inmate kills guard at Tiflet prison
A Moroccan prison guard was killed by an inmate who was in jail for belonging to a militant cell linked to the Islamic State group, prosecutors said Wednesday. The detainee on Tuesday "took captive an employee in his cell and assaulted him with a metal object" at...
Dire labor market in Morocco: government chooses mass layoffs to deal with pandemic effects on businesses
Morocco’s labor marker is in disarray. Even if you believe the government’s unreliable statistics, the country is bracing for a 15% unemployment rate by the end of this year. The projection, although bad enough, does not seem to take into account the thousands of...
Morocco: US defense chief Mark Esper in Morocco
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper signed a military cooperation deal Friday with Morocco, his final stop on a North Africa tour aimed at beefing up the fight against jihadists in war-torn Libya and the Sahel. His visit came as talks between Libyan rivals were set to...
With Russia’s presence in Libya and turmoil in the Sahel, US seeks to reengage with the Maghreb
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper signed a 10-year military cooperation deal with Tunis Wednesday during his first stop on a regional tour, hailing US-Tunisia collaboration over the conflict in neighbouring Libya. The past decade has seen growing cooperation between the...
Morocco: Police seize cocaine and two tons of hash in separate ops in coastal north
Nearly two tonnes of cannabis and over 20 kilograms of cocaine were seized this week in three separate operations in northern Morocco, the national security body and state media said Thursday. Police seized 920 kilogrammes (2,000 pounds) of cannabis resin Thursday at...
Morocco: Anger in Tangiers over rape and murder of a boy
The sexual assault and murder of a boy in the Moroccan city of Tangiers has stirred calls for the death penalty for the "monster" who killed the child. A suspect, a 24-year-old man working in the huge industrial zone of the port city, appeared before a prosecutor on...
Morocco: The coronavirus’ destructive impact on a major city
Snake charmers, storytellers and crowds of tourists; the legendary Jamaa El Fna square of Morocco's Marrakesh is almost as famous for the number of visitors as its colourful performers. But with tough government restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the novel...
Morocco raises concern about Islamic State activity
Editor's Note Morocco's concern over a resurgence of Daesh activities came days after a gendarmerie officer was killed in Sousse, Tunisia, in a knife attack that Daesh claimed. With the crisis in Libya attracting so many fighters, neighboring countries are concerned...
Morocco: Casablanca shuts down again as Covid-19 infections surge
Morocco imposed a lockdown on Casablanca and shut its schools Monday, the day pupils were due to return to classes, in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19. The new measures, which include restrictions on movement and a night-time curfew, would be in place for two...
Morocco and Algeria turn to Russia and China for a Covid-19 vaccine
North African governments are once again relying on foreign sources to help them deal with their crises. After recognizing that their focus on the hydroxychloroquine, supplied by foreign sources, was the wrong approach and led to nowhere, they are now turning their...
Espionage: Former head of Parisian airport’s police info unit accused of spying for Morocco
Créteil, France, Aug 25, 2020 - A French border policeman will stand trial for transferring hundreds of highly confidential documents on wanted people to Moroccan secret services in exchange for luxurious holidays abroad, judicial sources told AFP Tuesday. The...
Morocco: New anti-covid measures in Casablanca and Marrakesh as infections spike
Moroccan authorities Thursday slapped tight controls on movement in Casablanca and Marrakesh, the North African country's economic and tourist capitals, following a spike in coronavirus cases. Several districts of the two cities were to be sealed off, and opening...
Immigration: More migrants die trying to reach Spanish islands
Madrid, Aug 21, 2020 - Five African migrants have died trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands by boat, officials said Friday, two days after another vessel was spotted near the archipelago with 15 dead migrants on board. A Spanish air force patrol plane detected the...
Morocco: Migrants storm border fence separating Morocco to Spain’s Melilla
Madrid, Aug 20, 2020 - One African man died and eight people were injured when around 300 migrants tried to storm the border fence separating the Spanish enclave Melilla from Morocco on Thursday, local authorities said. The man, whose identity and nationality were not...
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