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Algeria ‘Targeted’ in Gantz’s Visit to Morocco

Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)
Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)
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Algeria ‘Targeted’ in Gantz’s Visit to Morocco

Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)
Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)

Head of the Algerian Senate said Thursday that his country was “targeted” by the visit of Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz to Morocco, during which both countries signed a security cooperation agreement.

“The enemies are mobilizing more and more to undermine Algeria,” which is “targeted” by this visit, Algeria’s official news agency, APS, quoted Salah Goudjil as saying.

“Today, things become clear when we see the Minister of Defense of the Zionist entity visiting a neighboring country, after the one carried out by Minister of Foreign Affairs of this entity, from where he threatened Algeria,” Goudjil added, referring to Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Morocco and Israel signed on Wednesday a security agreement that would facilitate Rabat’s access to Israeli military technology.

The visit sparked condemnations in Algerian media.

“What Israel did not do with Egypt and Jordan in 43 years and 27 years of relations respectively, Israel is currently doing with Morocco after only 11 months of normalizing ties,” wrote the online news site, Tout sur l’Algerie.

“This step further towards a compromise... opens the way for the Israeli Mossad to put both feet on the western border of Algeria, with all the threat that this implies to the security of Maghreb,” said the daily L’Expression.

In August, Algeria announced cutting diplomatic relations with Morocco for carrying out “hostile actions.”

Morocco and Algeria have long accused one another of backing opposition movements as proxies, with Algeria's support for separatists in the disputed region of Western Sahara a particular bone of contention for Morocco.

Since a ceasefire with the Polisario in 1991, Morocco has controlled around 80 percent of the Western Sahara, where it has poured investment into development projects.

The Algerian-backed Polisario continues to call for a referendum on self-determination, according to the 1991 UN-backed ceasefire deal.

Last year the administration of then-US president Donald Trump recognized Rabat’s sovereignty over Western Sahara as a quid pro quo for Morocco normalizing ties with Israel.

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Arab World

Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
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Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)

The Sudanese army carried out a surprise military operation in the early hours of Saturday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, regaining several positions in the city’s far southwest that it had previously abandoned to advancing Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Military sources reported that calm returned to El Fasher after intense clashes on Friday between the army and RSF fighters, who attempted a major offensive to deepen their hold inside the city. In a statement, the army said its Sixth Infantry Division successfully repelled a fresh RSF attack, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment, and restored control over all frontline areas.

RSF militants had infiltrated southern neighborhoods, seizing the Central Security Reserve headquarters and the Shalla prison. According to army sources, these forces were pushed back through ground combat supported by extensive drone strikes, forcing them to retreat to their original positions. The sources confirmed there were no significant breakthroughs or territorial gains by the RSF following the operation.

In a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Kamel Idris expressed “deep anger, pain, and responsibility” over the worsening humanitarian disaster in El Fasher. He condemned the “suffocating and inhumane siege imposed by the RSF militia,” describing it as “one of the most brutal cases of collective extortion and systematic starvation in recent history.”

Idris vowed that the government would not stand idly by in the face of this “atrocious” crime and pledged to use all political, diplomatic, and humanitarian means to break the siege and ensure urgent aid reaches civilians trapped in El Fasher amid widespread starvation and international silence.

He called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with international and humanitarian organizations, to act immediately to pressure the militia to open humanitarian corridors and end the use of starvation as a weapon against civilians.

The prime minister highlighted the RSF’s refusal to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2736, which demands lifting the siege on El Fasher, and their rejection of UN calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. He held the militia responsible for obstructing aid and accountable for the ongoing starvation and terror inflicted on civilians.

Idris warned against silence over these crimes, including the killing of civilians fleeing the siege and bombardments. He also cited the systematic destruction of hospitals by RSF suicide drone and strategic attacks, threatening the lives of millions of innocent civilians.

“What is happening in El Fasher is a major crime committed in full view and hearing of the world,” he said, urging the international community to move beyond lukewarm statements to real action and pressure on those besieging, starving, and attacking civilians.

The RSF continues to attempt to seize the city and its army base, the last stronghold of government forces across all Darfur states. Military sources said defenders repelled the assault and inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers.

The RSF has maintained a tight siege on El Fasher since May 2024, blocking all roads and supply routes and preventing humanitarian aid from entering, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths from starvation and medical shortages.