Algeria has long adopted a strategy of regional destabilization, by targeting particularly Morocco. After gaining its independence from France, Algeria refused to return the Moroccan lands annexed during colonization. After having created and animated the Polisario, the Algerian regime is trying to create a new center of separatism in the Kingdom, by supporting a small Rifian group and adopting a strategic plan on an international scale.
After attempts by the Algerian external security services to create a Rif separatist movement in Europe, on March 2, the Algerian regime returned to the charge by inviting members of the “Rifain National Party (PNR)”, founded in 2021 in Europe and officially declared on September 16, 2023, and offer it a “official representation” in one of the most beautiful areas of the capital.
A few months later, the Algerian strategy seems to be taking better shape. On November 23, the PNR organized its first “congress” in Algiers under the name “First Session of Rif Day”, with the support of the Algerian authorities who rolled out the red carpet for it to give it a semblance of existence.
The event obviously attracted a strong participation from Algerian media, leaders of the main local political parties, as well as international delegations from South Africa and Mozambique, two deeply anti-Moroccan countries.
This congress marks a turning point in the efforts of the Algerian authorities to support the independence cause of the Rif and intensify tensions with Morocco, after having already severed its diplomatic relations and initiated a number of manifestations of enmity and provocation which remained without follow-up on the part from Morocco.
One of the main methods used by Algiers to attempt to sow unrest and division within Morocco is through the active support and financing of the Polisario, an armed separatist group that demands independence for the Moroccan Sahara.
But this support from Algeria is part of a desire not only to counter the influence of Morocco in the region in order to establish itself as the Maghreb juggernaut, but goes beyond this question. Algeria also seeks to exploit other internal fault lines in Morocco, notably by intervening in the Rif question, to draw attention away from its own identity problems and internal divisions, such as the case of Kabylia which demands its independence.
Through this support, Algeria seeks to stir up tensions in the Rif region which was the scene of Hirak demonstrations in 2016. Behind the idea of its support for the small Rif group from abroad, there is, always and again, the dream of sowing discord internally in Morocco and playing on the divisions of this region with the aim of weakening central power and creating doubt about its ability to maintain national unity.
Except that the Amazigh movements quickly responded to these Algerian attempts and expressed their refusal to be used for political causes and even less when it comes to affecting their attachment to their homeland and their nation by a foreign country.
The Algerian project of destabilization across the Rif is therefore part of a broader strategy of dividing neighboring countries, aiming to weaken Morocco while strengthening Algeria’s position as a regional power.
Algiers dreams of making the question of the Rif and the Sahara a privileged area for this strategy of destabilization of Morocco. His scheme to finance separatist actors with the aim of weakening stability and national cohesion in the Kingdom is crystal clear.
Algeria’s ambitions to destabilize Morocco
According to several sources, cited in particular by Maghreb Intelligence, the Algerian authorities do not intend to stop there and are now considering taking a new step in their plan. It would notably include the organization of an African tour of PNR leaders.
The first negotiations are already underway to establish discreet meetings with the authorities of South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, but also Tunisia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The objective of these trips would be to convince the authorities of the African Union (AU) to grant an audience to the Rif separatists and thus to make their cause known. The PNR would seek to denounce what it describes as“Moroccan occupation” of the Rif, with the aim of mobilizing the AU and strengthening its +legitimacy+ at the continental level.
Secondly, the Algerian authorities plan to expand this international campaign to publicize the affair. Algeria is also planning to organize a tour of the “leaders” of the small Rif group in Latin America, with stops planned in Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia.
This ambitious plan is not limited to Africa and Latin America. Actions are also planned in Europe, notably in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and potentially in France. In these countries, Algerian lobbies would be mobilized to organize conferences, cultural, political and identity events favorable to the PNR.
All this with the aim of raising awareness among international public opinion and simply to criticize Moroccan policy on human rights. Algeria seems ready to invest considerable financial resources to support this approach.
According to the same sources, a budget of 5 million euros would be dedicated to the implementation of this anti-Moroccan plan, with the possibility of increasing funding, intended to support travel, events and communication campaigns. It is also reported that Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is personally overseeing this project.
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