Algeria Morocco Rivalry Flares Again in 2026

Algeria and Morocco have a long-standing strategic rivalry that flares periodically due to each nation viewing the other as a threat to their core national projects. This tension has significant implications for the United States, which has grown closer to Morocco while still relying on Algerian cooperation on Sahel security and European gas supply.

The conflict is rooted in competing territorial claims, particularly over Western Sahara, which Morocco annexed and Algeria supports as a right to self-determination. The Organization of African Unity supported the principle of uti possidetis, which preserved colonial borders at independence and aligned with Algeria's position. The Sand War was a brief conflict that established a lasting security logic in both capitals, with Rabat viewing Algeria as an obstacle to territorial consolidation and Algiers perceiving Moroccan territorial claims as a threat to inherited African borders.

The UN has been involved in the Western Sahara dispute since 1991, with the MINURSO mission tasked with overseeing a referendum that has never taken place. Instead, Morocco proposes autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, while Algeria and Polisario advocate for genuine self-determination, including independence. The land border between the two countries has been closed since 1994, serving as a political symbol of the rivalry.

Algeria has accused Morocco of hostile actions, including violations of Western Sahara and support for separatist activity, while Morocco denies these claims. Energy ties, particularly the Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline, have created both interdependence and new points of rivalry, as Algeria relies on the Medgaz pipeline for gas exports.

Washington's position is particularly sensitive, as the U.S. has deep security ties with Morocco and has backed Rabat's approach to Western Sahara, aligning U.S. interests more closely with those of Morocco.