AFRICOM Chief sends strong message to Algeria amid alarming reports of growing Iranian influence
Gen. Michael Langley, Chief of U.S. Africa Command, travelled on Tuesday to Algeria and met with army chief Said Chengriha and President Abdelmajid Tebboune amidst intelligence reports warning against Iranian weapons delivered recently to Algeria-backed Polisario militias.
According to experts, these weapons pose a direct threat to American interests in the region and to Morocco, U.S. major ally, and host country of the annual “African Lion” military exercise, the largest in the continent.
The visit of the U.S. four-star General comes few days after the U.S. ambassador to Algeria Elizabeth Aubin confirmed the American recognition of Morocco’s full sovereignty over its entire Saharan territory.
She also reaffirmed Washington’s support for the realistic and credible autonomy plan proposed by Morocco under its sovereignty, without saying a word on the self-determination referendum abandoned by the United Nations.
The ambassador’s remarks have irked the Algerian regime and the Polisario leaders, sparking tension between them, after realizing the deadlock of their predicament and their humiliating loss.
The diplomatic setbacks suffered by the ruling Algerian junta and Polisario were exacerbated by the exclusion of the separatist group by the African Union from upcoming international events gathering African countries with China, Russia, the United States, South Korea, Japan, India…
Sensing the collapse of the Polisario amid a growing popular uproar, frustration, and resentment in Tindouf camps, several militiamen have left the group, rising serious concerns as the Iranian proxies are recruiting these vulnerable and disillusioned fighters to serve the hegemony agenda of the Ayatollahs.
Prior to the upcoming UN Security Council meeting on the Sahara, it is very likely that the Polisario may launch some hostile actions against Morocco with the Iranian weapons from neighboring Algeria.
Last October, the Polisario launched deadly rocket attack on the Moroccan Saharan city of Es Smara. Another attack would lead to the designation of the Polisario militia a terrorist organization and Algeria as a state sponsor of terrorism, have affirmed the experts, noting that the United States is the penholder of UN Security Council resolutions on the Sahara.
To avoid such a scenario and maintain stability in the region, the Pentagon has sent Gen. Michael Langley to Algeria and a military delegation to MINURSO’s HQ in Laayoune to assess the challenges facing the UN mission. But will U.S. engagement of Algeria pay-off?
