Indications of escalating covert tension in UAE-Algeria relations
There is a growing covert tension in the relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Algeria, amid anger within the Algerian Ministry of Defense over Abu Dhabi’s aggressive policies towards the country.
The North Africa Post highlighted the escalating covert tension between Algeria and the UAE, with some indications publicly confirming this.
The newspaper referred to the news published by the widely circulated newspaper El Nahar, which speaks on behalf of the Algerian military rulers, about the country’s request for the UAE ambassador to leave Algerian territory after the arrest of four Emirati spies working for Mossad.
It clarified that the news, which was later denied by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and described as fabricated, was published at the request of the Ministry of Defense, according to Abdou Semmar, an Algerian journalist in exile and the head of the news website “Algeriepart.”
Semmar added, “The editorial team will never dare to publish the news unless asked to do so,” confirming that “the Algerian media now serve as the mouthpieces of the presidency, government, or the Ministry of Defense.”
The website indicated a faction within the Algerian military council pushing for escalation with the UAE, which has strengthened its relations with Morocco, which currently has hostile ties with Algeria, including at the military level.
The news publication came after the UAE and Gulf countries reiterated their explicit support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
It is worth mentioning that the newspaper El Nahar removed the news from its website and social media platforms, but it did not impose any punishment although the country has restrictive press laws that severely punish fake news, as the report states.
Last Wednesday, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune dismissed Minister of Communication Mohamed Bouslimani. This decision raised questions due to its timing, as it was announced by the Algerian presidency just before dawn on Wednesday, a few hours after the news of the expulsion of the UAE ambassador was published.
According to a tweet on its official Twitter page, the Algerian channel said, “Algeria requests the Emirati ambassador to leave national territory.”
The “El Nahar” channel indicated, “The Emirati ambassador was given a 48-hour deadline to leave Algeria.”
It clarified that “the decision to expel the Emirati ambassador came after the arrest of 4 Emirati spies who were spying for the Mossad of the occupation state.”
The channel provided details of the espionage operation, stating that “the arrested spies attempted to transfer secrets and information about the Algerian state.”
The El Nahar channel tweeted, “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its regret for these wrong actions and despicable schemes that target Algeria.”
It should be noted that “Yousef Saif Khamees Sbei Al Ali” is the current Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
This move comes after a series of political and diplomatic disputes between Algeria and the United Arab Emirates. The tension between the two countries has escalated due to political issues and mutual statements.
Meanwhile, it is certain that this move will have wide-ranging effects on the diplomatic relations between the two countries and may open the door to new regional tensions between the two Arab states.
It is expected that this move will impact the political and economic relations between Algeria and the UAE and may require further diplomatic responses.
