A Qatari military aircraft touched down at Laayoune airport yesterday evening, having departed from Algeria. According to a Moroccan source speaking to Yabiladi, the plane was transporting equipment for one of the Emir of Qatar's brothers, including birds from his hunting grounds in the Algerian desert, to his reserve in Morocco near Boujdour. This flight between Algeria and Laayoune has sparked numerous questions. Algiers does not recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara and has consistently avoided any concessions, going as far as banning maps that depict Moroccan control over the Saharan provinces. In a move to underscore the diplomatic tensions between the two nations, the Algerian government has closed its airspace to Moroccan aircraft, both civilian and military. This decision was made by the High Security Council at the end of a meeting on September 22, 2021, which focused on «developments at the borders with the Kingdom of Morocco, in light of the ongoing provocations and hostile actions from the Moroccan side». Since then, flights between the two neighboring countries have been rare. Officially, Algeria's Minister of Justice, Abderrachid Tebbi, has made two visits to the Kingdom. On September 7, 2022, he extended an invitation to King Mohammed VI to attend an Arab summit hosted by Algeria. He returned on October 19 of the same year to hand over the presidency of the Council of Arab Ministers of Justice to Morocco. Additionally, on November 1 and 2, 2022, Nasser Bourita traveled to Algiers to represent King Mohammed VI at the Arab summit. In a related development, it is worth noting that in December 2022, Algeria closed its airspace to the Moroccan soccer team, which was scheduled to participate in the African Nations Championship (CHAN).
