Theme: Maghreb

The Russian flag was raised in the Western Sahara territory controlled by the Polisario Front, in gratitude for Moscow's position at the UN Security Council on the conflict, Mohamed Yeslem Beissat, head of the Polisario delegation that visited Moscow this spring, told Sputnik. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the country could not support an initiative that would strip the people of Western Sahara of their right to vote.

Cartoonist and graffiti artist Yasser Mounbir was sentenced at first instance in Casablanca to four years in prison for insulting the king and fined 40,000 dirhams, with his lawyers announcing an appeal.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of potential military escalation across Western Sahara following the termination of the body’s 35-year-old peacekeeping mission in the disputed territory, according to TRT World. The UN said the departure of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) “does not abrogate” the territory’s people’s “inalienable right to self-determination”.

The United Nations Security Council did not adopt a resolution extending the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), whose mandate expires on October 31, 2026. A draft tabled by the United States received 11 votes in favor, 1 veto from Russia and 3 abstentions, according to the United Nations. The US draft would also have rebranded the force from MINURSO to MINUSO, dropping the R that stands for a referendum on the territory’s self-determination, according to Deutsche Welle.

Russia and the United States vetoed each other’s rival Western Sahara resolutions at the Security Council on Friday, leaving the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission there without a renewal a day before its mandate expires, according to Reuters, in a text republished by The Star. The US-drafted resolution would have cemented Morocco’s autonomy plan as the only basis for talks and scaled back the military component of the mission. The Russian-drafted resolution, which would have extended the mandate for another year without changes, was vetoed by the United States.

Ten years after Mouhcine Fikri’s death sparked the Rif protests, six Hirak leaders remain in prison, including Nasser Zefzafi, sentenced to 20 years, according to Middle East Eye. The movement grew out of the fishmonger Fikri’s death; he was crushed inside a garbage truck in Al Hoceima on October 28, 2016 while trying to retrieve his confiscated catch, according to the outlet.

Tunisian police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Ettadhamen, a suburb of the capital, following the death of a man detained on suspicion of drug dealing, according to Al Jazeera. In Jebiniana, in Sfax governorate, police clashed with protesters following the death of a man whose relatives said he had died while being chased by security forces, also according to Al Jazeera.

Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives unanimously approved on Tuesday the memorandum of understanding signed on November 27, 2019, with Turkey that delimits the two countries’ maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean, according to TRT World. The memorandum was signed by Libya’s then internationally recognised Government of National Accord. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the decision on Wednesday. “I hope this important decision will be beneficial,” he said, according to TRT World.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are visiting Ceuta months after more than 70,000 migrants arrived from Morocco, France24 reported. The visit has divided residents and risks reigniting diplomatic tensions with Morocco, which claims sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla.

Algerian authorities announced on Sunday the arrest of 61 Moroccan nationals earlier this month on suspicion of planning “acts of sabotage”, according to Hespress, with AFP. The General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said the 61, including a former soldier in the Moroccan army, “were preparing to commit acts of sabotage undermining security and public order”. Le Monde reported the same arrests.

Eight Israeli arms manufacturers, including the three giants Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Elbit Systems and Rafael, are participating in the 2026 Marrakech Air Show for the first time, Middle East Eye reported. Morocco and Israel formalised ties in 2020 under a US-brokered normalisation agreement, in exchange for Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty claim over Western Sahara. Hundreds gathered outside parliament in Rabat to denounce the deepening ties with Israel on the first day of the air show.

Four people were arrested after drones attacked the Zawiya oil station in western Libya and caused a fire, according to the Guardian. Three Libyans arrested were linked to Saddam Haftar, son of the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, who faces allegations he oversaw a “terror cell” that launched drone attacks on fuel facilities and power stations. The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity says working with Saddam Haftar is “impossible”. The tank that was hit held about 4.5 million litres of fuel.

The king of Morocco on Tuesday named Marrakesh mayor Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri the country’s first woman prime minister, after her centre-right Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won last week’s parliamentary elections. PAM won 97 of 395 seats in the House of Representatives — 31 more than the next closest competitor, Dawn reported. “For the first time in our country’s history, a woman is taking on the responsibility of leading the government”, El Mansouri said.

Fatima Zahra El Mansouri has been named Morocco’s first female prime minister, after her centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won the most seats in last week’s parliamentary elections, according to BBC News. She was appointed by King Mohammed VI and is only the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.

Morocco’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won the parliamentary elections with 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, according to final results announced by the Interior Ministry. The party fell well short of the 198 seats needed for an outright majority and will need to build a coalition with other parties to govern. The Associated Press confirmed the figure from the Interior Ministry.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita the further development of bilateral relations and the resolution of regional crises on the basis of the UN Charter, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The meeting took place in New York during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining effective foreign policy coordination on pressing issues on the regional agenda, including with a view to resolving the issue of Western Sahara and other ongoing conflicts through political and diplomatic means.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, that a failure of Morocco’s border controls was to blame for the mass entry of migrants into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta. He said Spain was investigating what happened in July and had asked Rabat for “actions and also for answers because it is also clear that its border control failed”, in an interview with the US broadcaster CNN in New York, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Le Monde. More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta on 30 and 31 July 2026 in an unprecedented and deadly rush, AFP reported. Most returned to Morocco in the following hours; several thousand remained in the enclave, where the situation has since deteriorated, leading to episodes of violence and almost daily demonstrations by residents. A Spanish police report seen by AFP said the number of Moroccan police officers around the border crossing was “clearly smaller than usual” and that officers “made no serious attempt” to stem the surge, based on satellite images, open-source videos and testimonies from migrants. Speaking in parliament on 3 September 2026, Sánchez had said Madrid needed to ask Morocco for “explanations and changes” to avoid a repeat, while stressing there was no “solid proof” that Morocco had orchestrated the influx, according to AFP and Le Monde.