Algeria Angry After Arab League Endorses Moroccan Map Including Western Sahara

Amman Ballani, a special envoy in Algeria’s Foreign Ministry, accused Morocco of promoting “blatant deception” after the Arab League endorsed a map that shows the disputed Western Sahara region as part of the North African kingdom. Morocco considers Western Sahara to be part of its territory and controls about 80% of the disputed land, while the Sahrawi nationalist movement Polisario Front, with Algerian backing, controls a self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in about 20% of the territory. Morocco, which rejects calls for Sahrawi independence, has proposed an autonomy plan for the disputed territory. The Arab League earlier this week asked that all groups affiliated with it adopt the “complete map of Morocco.” Algiers broke ties with Rabat in August after Morocco normalized its relations with Israel and the US recognized Morocco’s sovereignty in Western Sahara.