Heba Press – Shafiq Anouri
On official platforms, in meeting rooms, conferences, and international summits, Algerian leaders incessantly reiterate slogans of good neighborliness and respect for international law. However, behind the scenes, a different picture has been revealed over the past five years: a country opening one diplomatic front of conflict after another, until its name became associated with tension more than stability.
While the world has become accustomed to seeing Israel embroiled in conflicts with its neighbors and seeking to weaken them, Algeria has found a place alongside it, having mapped out a series of crises with its near and far neighbors.
2020: The First Spark from African Consulates in the Sahara and the Guerguerat Incident
It began in the Moroccan cities of the Sahara, when Algeria considered the opening of several consulates there a direct provocation. Initially, it reacted with protests; summoning the Ivorian ambassador was its first response, before reluctantly accepting this new reality.
A few months later, Algeria opened an undeclared new front with the UAE due to its stance on neighboring Libya and its support for neighboring Morocco, before the Guerguerat issue pushed regional tensions to the brink of explosion. The “El Mouradia Palace” (presidential palace) pushed the Polisario Front to close the border crossing before the Royal Armed Forces intervened to restore normal commercial traffic.
2021: A Declared Break with Morocco and a Clash with Paris
The year 2021 marked a turning point. Algeria unilaterally announced the severing of its relations with Morocco and closed its airspace to Moroccan aircraft. Then, according to observers, it committed one of its biggest diplomatic blunders by deciding to shut down the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline as a retaliatory measure against Morocco.
The crisis did not stop in Rabat. Statements by French President Emmanuel Macron about the “absence of an Algerian nation before colonization,” and that the French army found Algeria under another occupation upon its arrival, angered El Mouradia Palace, leading to the summoning of the French ambassador and a deep rift in relations.
2022: Madrid in the Eye of the Storm
The closure of the gas pipeline, intended to pressure Morocco, backfired. Spain, which had been relying on Algerian gas, saw its revenues reduced and had to resort to alternatives, giving it greater freedom to adopt its strategic positions. This happened in March 2022 when the Madrid government announced its support for the autonomy proposal to resolve the Sahara dispute.
Algeria did not accept this and responded to Spain’s new stance by severing ties, suspending the friendship treaty, and halting trade. Simultaneously, it renewed its accusations against Rabat, especially after the French network “Enquetes interdites” published its alleged investigation claiming that the phones of officials in Spain, France, Algeria, and other countries had been targeted by Moroccan espionage.
2023: Crises in the Sahel and Unrelenting Tension with France
At the beginning of 2023, the focus of Algeria’s crises shifted to its southern neighbors: Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Algeria was explicitly accused of trying to destabilize the region by supporting separatist movements.
As for France, despite attempts at de-escalation, the issues of memory and migration continued to fuel the dispute between the two countries, amid growing criticism of Algeria’s approach to its partners.
2024: Libya and the Sahel in the Crosshairs of Accusations
Only a few months passed before tension resurfaced, this time with Libya, due to Algeria’s support for the Tripoli government against Haftar. Meanwhile, the dispute widened with Sahel countries, particularly Mali, which publicly accused Algeria of sponsoring separatist movements. By the end of the year, the crisis with the UAE resurfaced due to its support for neighboring countries.
2025: The Crisis Reaches its Peak with Mali
This year witnessed the Algeria-Mali crisis reaching its peak after the Malian army shot down a drone belonging to the Bamako army. Mali considered this a “flagrant aggression” and responded swiftly with a joint decision with the other two Sahel countries, Niger and Burkina Faso, to withdraw ambassadors from Algeria and accuse it of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.
Algeria and Israel: A Striking Similarity in Creating Chaos
On the international scene, only Israel matches Algeria in the number of crises with its neighbors. Israel has been involved in open conflicts with the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as with Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Qatar, and Iraq. Russia, despite its numerous disputes with its neighbors since the invasion of Ukraine, has mostly been involved in a single front, not disparate crises.
Thus, Algeria and Israel appear as prominent exceptions, writing a special chapter in international politics: a record filled with crises and threats to the stability of their neighbors. A rhetoric that proclaims respect for international law and a reality that tells a completely different story.
