Algeria cites hostility, cuts Morocco ties

ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria’s foreign minister said Tuesday that his country is breaking diplomatic ties with Morocco “starting today,” as hostility grows between the North African neighbors.

Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra read a statement from the country’s president on the decision at a news conference.

The announcement was made nearly a week after Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune told a security council meeting that “incessant hostile acts” by Morocco raised “the need for a revision in relations between the two countries and the intensification of security checks at the western borders” with Morocco, the official APS new agency reported.

The move follows a period of growing tension between the neighbors, which are mired in a long-standing feud with their borders closed to each other.

Matters deteriorated further in recent weeks, with Morocco’s U.N. ambassador saying the people of Algeria’s Kabyle region should have the right to determine their future status.

That recalls Algeria’s support for Polisario guerrillas’ bid for self-determination in the disputed Western Sahara, annexed by Morocco in 1975. Morocco wants autonomy for the region.

Algeria, in turn, claims that Morocco backs a separatist group in the Berber region of Kabyle that it has placed on a terrorist list.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abdul Gheit called on both nations to avoid further escalation and expressed hope they can maintain a “minimal level of ties” to ensure stability for themselves and the region.

(AP/Fateh Guidoum) Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra reads a statement from the country’s president Tuesday, saying the nation was cutting ties with Morocco.