Morocco becomes steadfast ally to Mali, say officials
Malian Communication Minister, Alhamdou Ag Ilyene.
Moroccan-Malian ties look set to flourish as Malian officials praised Morocco as a steadfast ally in Mali’s political and diplomatic choices, according to the pro-Moroccan North Africa Post and agencies on June 4th.
Alhamdou Ag Ilyene, Mali’s Communication Minister, expressed this positive stance during the first Pan-African Media Forum in Bamako on June 3rd, highlighting cooperation in areas including training and defence.
Abdoulaye Diop, Mali’s Foreign Minister, also reaffirmed bilateral relations between the countries, particularly Morocco’s role in South-South cooperation.
Under King Mohammed VI, Morocco has established itself as a diplomatic partner to Mali and the Sahel region more broadly, with landlocked Sahel countries to benefit from the Atlantic Initiative to grant the countries access to the Atlantic Ocean via Morocco.
This support came amid reports that the Algerian-backed Polisario Front was involved in coordinated attacks alongside the al-Qaeda linked JNIM and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) in northern Mali on April 25th.
Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attacks at his residence in Kati, while the FLA recaptured Kidal.
On April 29th, Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s Foreign Minister, said that Morocco “has observed what is now an obvious collusion between separatism and terrorism.”
Bourita added that the alliance between Polisario militants and the FLA “represents a threat to regional stability and to Mali.”
Algeria and Polisario fighters reject the Moroccan Autonomy Plan to grant the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.
In April, Mali joined 130 nations in supporting the plan, which the Polisario Front has rejected in favour of an independence referendum.
Mali withdrew its backing of the so-called Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which the Polisario Front has recognised since 1976.
Support for Moroccan sovereignty led both nations to confront their shared fight against separatists near the Algerian border.
The Polisario Front and FLA claim to fight for self-determination for the Sahrawi and Tuareg people, who are indigenous to the Western Sahara and Azawad, respectively.
Polisario militants control the Tindouf camps near the Mauritanian border, where Tuareg separatists have allegedly been hosted.
Before the 1991 ceasefire, Tuareg rebels allegedly fought against Morocco during the armed conflict between Morocco and Western Sahara, which began when Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.
Maghrebi contacted Mali’s Communication Ministry for comment on Moroccan-Malian ties, but has not received a response at the time of publication.
North Africa Post and agencies
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