Algeria has warned the French ambassador that it will consider a Franco-Moroccan military exercise scheduled for September a “provocation“ that will only “fuel the current crisis“, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
Relations between France and Algeria have continued to deteriorate since French President Emmanuel Macron announced in July last year his support for an autonomy plan under “Moroccan sovereignty“ for the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
In a press release, the Algerian Foreign Ministry announced last night that it “received“ the French ambassador to Algeria to inform him of the “seriousness” of the planned maneuvers.
The ministry said the exercise was seen as an "act of provocation against Algeria" and that it "will undoubtedly raise tensions between the two countries to a higher level of seriousness".
According to Algeria, these planned Franco-Moroccan military maneuvers are scheduled for September in Erahidia, "not far from the Algerian border".
Relations between France and Algeria are going through one of the most serious crises since the declaration of Algerian independence in 1962. The tension was triggered by the issue of Western Sahara, and intensified after the arrest in Algiers in mid-November of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and Algeria's refusal to allow several of its citizens expelled from France to enter the country. A deadly bombing was subsequently carried out in the French city of Mulhouse, with the main suspect being an Algerian.