Morocco - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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City Name

Rabat

Morocco

December 6, 2025

Rabat 2:23 am

10°C

The Civil Guard, in a joint operation with the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie, has dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to smuggling hashish into Spain using drones, on Nov. 11, 2025.

Spain, Morocco dismantle drone network flying hashish across border

Spanish authorities seized more than 150 kilograms of hashish and more than 320,000 euros ($371,820) in cash in searches across southern Spain.

ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Morocco's UN-backed Western Sahara plan offers investors some reassurance

Last week, the UN Security Council voted in favor of a resolution backing Rabat’s plan for Western Sahara, describing autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the “most feasible solution” to the 50-year disagreement over the disputed territory.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A man stands atop the kasbah of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

Culture

From Hollywood set to heritage hub: Morocco’s $75M bet on Ouarzazate

Once the Hollywood of the Sahara, Morocco’s desert city is betting on sustainable tourism to reclaim its place on the map.

Brahim Ghali, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SARD) and Secretary-General of the Polisario front, salutes the flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SARD) ahead of a Polisario congress at the refugee camp of Dakhla, which lies some 170km to the southeast of the Algerian city of Tindouf, on January 13, 2023.

UN Security Council backs Moroccan plan for disputed Western Sahara

The resolution boycotted by Algeria says the Moroccan plan "could constitute a most feasible solution" to the conflict.

Latest News

Feature

Trump eyes Algeria-Morocco rift over Western Sahara in latest peace bid

Camels roam next to wind turbines that will supply power to a desalination plant under construction in Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara, mostly controlled by Morocco, on May 26, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Saudi investment minister visits Morocco, Senegal on Africa trade drive

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih with Moroccan Industry Minister Riad Mezzour

Culture

Marrakech's African Contemporary Art Museum reinvents itself two years after quake

Installation view of CONVERGE in Seven Contours, One Collection at MACAAL © Ayoub El Bardii.

Morocco arrests 400+ as youth protesters demand government steps down

ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT/AFP via Getty Images

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Moroccan Amazigh Berbers march during a protest calling for the release of political prisoners and demanding more rights, in Rabat February 3, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (MOROCCO - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY) - RTR3DBGE

Morocco’s Amazighs still feel marginalized

It has been four years since the Amazigh language was officially recognized by the Moroccan Constitution, but there is still no law in place to guarantee the cultural minority’s rights.

Morocco battles Islamic State cells

After attacks in neighboring Tunisia, Morocco is doing all it can to crack down on Islamic State sympathizers.

United Arab Emirates

Mohammed Maazab, a Libyan member of the General National Congress (GNC) and head of the talks with the United Nations, adresses journalists on March 12, 2015 in Skhirat, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, where a new round of UN-mediated crisis talks between representatives from Libya's rival parliaments is supposed to start. Libya's internationally recognised parliament which is based in the eastern city of Tobruk confirmed they requested to postpone the start of the talks in Morocco aimed at forming a unity

Morocco, Algeria compete over Libya

Morocco may be exploiting Algerian weaknesses to raise the stature of its foreign diplomacy by hosting the UN-sponsored dialogue between the conflicting Libyan parties.

Morocco's King Mohamed VI and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) speak during the presentation of a solar energy project in Ouarzazate November 2, 2009. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante (MOROCCO ROYALS POLITICS ENVIRONMENT) - RTXQ9YQ

Is Hillary Clinton taking 'blood phosphate' money from Morocco?

Critics of a $1 million Clinton Foundation gift see a ploy to build support for illegal exploitation of the "last colony in Africa."

Sahrawis shout slogans for the freedom of Western Sahara before a demonstration organised by officials from the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) to show the hazards of mined territory near Tifariti, in the Sahara desert in southwestern Algeria, February 28, 2011. Over 150,000 Sahrawis live in several refugee camps dispersed in the Algerian desert 35 years after Morocco annexed the disputed territory of Western Sahara. REUTERS/Juan Medina (ALGERIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR2J9HB

Russia shows interest in Western Sahara

Russia's desire to play an active role in the Middle East extends beyond Cairo and Damascus to longstanding issues further south.

10 Middle East artists to watch

Many female artists in the Middle East and North Africa are redefining their mediums.

A view of Djamaa Lafna square and its restaurants in Marrakesh's old city December 18, 2014. Picture taken December 18, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (MOROCCO - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) - RTR4KAMQ

Why did Iran, Morocco resume relations?

Economics, Iran's desire for greater international standing, the Islamic State and Western Sahara may be factors in Iran naming an ambassador to Morocco after a nearly six-year break in ties.

People watch a television interview broadcast on CBC and ONTV with presidential candidate and Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, at cafe in Cairo May 6, 2014. Sisi, who is expected to win a presidential election this month, said in a television interview broadcast on Tuesday that costly energy subsidies could not be lifted quickly. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS MILITARY) - RTR3O2A9

Tensions increase between Egypt, Morocco

Cordial relations between Egypt and Morocco have been hampered by a media brawl between both countries’ official TV channels, as Egypt moves closer to Algeria.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at Rabat airport at the start of a tour of the Maghreb region, June 3, 2013. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (MOROCCO - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10AEE

Erdogan’s heavy hand in Turkish media

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s personal call to a TV station to immediately stop a news scroll reveals the extent of the restrictions on press freedom in Turkey.

The handcuffs of inmates are seen during a play at a public theatre in Lima, June 20, 2012. About 20 young inmates of Ancon prison put on stage their own theatrical script, based on their testimonies in jail, outside prison after four months of rehearsal. The event, organized by prison authorities, aims to help them reintegrate into society when they get released in future. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil (PERU - Tags: SOCIETY CRIME LAW) - RTR33Y1I

Israeli criminals make their way to Morocco

Lacking an extradition treaty with Israel, Morocco has become an unlikely sanctuary for Israeli mobsters looking to make money or avoid police investigations.

Diplomats from the United States and Israel are silhouetted as they join about 100 mourners at a ceremony, held on Thursday in memory of veteran Jewish leader Carmen Weinstein, at Sha'ar Hashamayim (Gate of Heaven) synagogue in downtown Cairo, April 18, 2013. Weinstein, 82, died last Saturday at her home in Cairo where she was known over the past two decades for leading efforts to preserve the overwhelmingly Muslim country's Jewish heritage. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS OBITUARY) -

Jews from Arab countries: the forgotten refugees

A UN conference addresses the status of Jews from Arab states who were expelled from their homeland after the creation of the state of Israel.