Morocco-Algeria Tensions: Royal Archivist Recalls Morocco’s Historical Claims to Eastern Sahara

Bahija Simou, the director of Morocco’s Royal Archives, has brought the long-running border dispute between Morocco and Algeria back to the forefront after asserting on that Morocco has documents proving its sovereignty over the so-called mineral-rich “Eastern Sahara” region. By raising this issue now, Morocco may be attempting to pressure France, whose relations with Algeria have deteriorated, into explicitly recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Morocco