Since Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali traveled to Spain on April 18 for medical treatment, tensions between Rabat and Madrid have become tense. The situation escalated with the influx of thousands of migrants from Morocco at the Spanish border since May 17. 

The government of Morocco has decided to recall its ambassador to Madrid amid the diplomatic tensions with Spain. According to information relayed on May 18 by the Moroccan media MAP, “the ambassador was recalled for consultation and should come back very soon.”

The decision comes in a tense period between the countries due to the Polisario Front and the management of migration. Rabat blames the Spanish government for welcoming the Sahrawi independence leader Brahim Ghali, who went for treatment against covid-19, on its territory. The Moroccan government expressed its "exasperation" with the assistance given to the 71-year-old dissident leader while demanding "explanations”.

On the other side, Madrid blames Morocco for letting thousands of migrants cross its border through the Ceuta enclave. Official stats report that a record number of over 6,000 Moroccan migrants have illegally arrived on the Spanish coast since May 17. The Spanish authorities had summoned Ambassador Karima Benyaich (pictured) to express their "dissatisfaction" that border control on the Moroccan side had not been effective. "Border control has been and must remain the shared responsibility of Spain and Morocco," Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said.

While Madrid did not evoke a link between the current migration crisis and the diplomatic tension with Morocco, a simple coincidence between the influx of migrants and Rabat's reaction to the hospitalization in Spain of Brahim Ghali is difficult to believe.

Morocco is a key partner of Spain in Africa, not only because they cooperate in curbing the migration crisis facing the European country, but also in terms of economic cooperation. The Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast are the European Union's only land borders with Africa, and they are regularly attacked by migrants. According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, nearly 4,000 migrants who arrived illegally in Ceuta have already been sent back home.

Following this quarrel, the Spanish justice announced the reopening of a case for crimes against humanity against Brahim Ghali who is supported by Algeria, and who militates for the independence of Western Sahara that Rabat claims as part of its territory.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou