French politician and member of the European Parliament Thierry Mariani has accused Algeria on Saturday of promoting disorder and instability by supporting “separatism” in the Sahel region, raising questions about Algeria’s alleged links to separatist movements in Africa, especially in Mali.
On his X account (formerly known as Twitter), Mariani wondered about what he dubbed “a guilty fear” regarding Algeria, saying that this mixture of fear and guilt is haunting French president Emmanuel Macron and the European Union.
The EU deputy wrote “after the Polisario, Algiers is purportedly supporting numerous separatist movements in the Sahel, as in Mali. Africa is in need of stability, but Algeria is promoting disorder.”
In a previous post, Mariani had criticized Polisario’s involvement in terrorist, barbaric acts, citing an attack on Es-Smara city in the Moroccan Sahara, which claimed casualties among civilians.
The politician warned of stability issues in the region due to potential connections between Polisario and Islamist terrorist groups, and their possible repercussions on the EU.
He asked whether or not the European Commission would cut financial support for the refugees camps southwestern Algeria after it has become clear that the camps are run by the polisario front, explaining that the founder of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISIS-GS) Adnan Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi was originally a polisario fighter.
The Republic of Mali has recently recalled its ambassador Mahamane Amadou MAIGA in Algiers for consultation. The reciprocal move mirrors the growing diplomatic tension between the two neighbors due to regional and security issues.
Mali’s Foreign Affairs Minister had urged Algeria to prioritize dialogue with legitimate Malian authorities for state-to-state exchanges, and had expressed rejection of Algerian authorities’ unfriendly acts of holding high-level meetings on the peace process in Mali without official Malian representation.