The land border between Algeria and Morocco has been closed for about 20 years now. Despite
their history as allies under French colonial rule, the two have since been embroiled in
serious territory disputes. They even began building separate walls in the past few years
to further segregate themselves. So, what happened? Why do Morocco and Algeria hate
each other?
Well back in the mid 1800s and early 1900s, France controlled Algeria and Morocco. Algeria
was a French colony, while Morocco was a “protectorate” state, defended by France. It wasn’t until
the mid 1900s that France relinquished its authority over the region. And that’s when
Morocco tried to reinstate its pre-colonial land claims, which extended across parts of
Algeria.
In 1963, Morocco invaded southern Algeria, in what is known as the Sand War. Although
a cease-fire was reached in 1964, there were already hundreds of casualties, and the war
had a large effect on the two nation’s diplomatic attitudes towards each other.
A decade after the ceasefire, Morocco again attempted to reinstate its pre-colonial claims.
In 1975 it attempted to annex the region known as the Western Sahara. When Saharan inhabitants
rebelled, Algeria supported them against Morocco. Today the conflict is still ongoing, with
over a hundred-thousand Saharan people still living in Algerian refugee camps.
Towards the end of the 1980s, tensions cooled between Morocco and Algeria, when they both
entered the Arab Maghreb Union , otherwise known as UMA. A treaty between them, and 3
other UMA members, encouraged trade and diplomatic harmony.
But in 1992, civil war broke out in Algeria. And two years later, after an alleged “guerrilla
attack” in Morocco - that was blamed on Algeria, borders were closed by the two countries.
Both cited security issues.
So, Algeria and Morocco remain at odds with each other, over territorial and political
conflicts. And although the United Nations and the United States encourage both countries
to cooperate and overcome their differences, they are currently in a diplomatic stalemate.