The British oil company Dana Petroleum announced May 26 it has acquired a large interest in the ongoing oil explorations offshore Morocco’s town of Safi. Dana, based in Scottish Aberdeen, produces oil in the British sector of the North Sea… Read moreOil industry eyes disputed African offshore zones
Thirty-seven Islamists have been charged in Mauritania with belonging to an illegal group after being arrested last month on suspicion of links to a organization tied to al-Qaeda. Another 14 were released May 27, and some accused the authorities of… Read moreCrackdown on Islamists in Mauritania
Spain’s foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos began talks May 30 with his Moroccan and Algerian counterparts in the latest attempt to find a solution to the decades-long conflict in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. Mohamed Benaissa of Morocco and Algerian Abdelaziz Belajadem… Read morePolisario Front demands UN action on Western Sahara
Stephen Ulph of the national-secuity think-tank The Jamestown Foundation writes that “militant Islamist forums” in Algeria are circulating a statement dated May 8 purporting to announce the formation of a new al-Qaeda cell, apparenrly seeking to revive Algeria’s dormant civil… Read moreAl-Qaeda announces Algeria franchise
The Intifada which has broken out in Morocco-occupied Western Sahara continues too grow, and has even spread to Morocco proper. Yesterday, bludgeon-wielding police raided a university campus in Rabat to break up a protest by Saharawi students held in solidarity… Read moreWestern Sahara “Intifada” grows
Clashes between Moroccan security forces and Saharawi demonstrators have broken out in towns across Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, following the violent repression of pro-independence protests. Saharawi human rights activists say that nineteen people are missing in police custody, including one whole… Read more“Intifada” erupts in Western Sahara
Reporters Without Borders issued a statement Feb. 5 protesting a "smear campaign" against Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet, who has been accused of "treason" in numerous pro-government media outlets since he ran a piece in the Spanish daily El Mundo on… Read moreMorocco: journalist threatened for Western Sahara reportage
