ALGIERS
The Algerian Council of the Nation, the upper house of parliament, suspended its relations with the French Senate on Wednesday following a visit by its speaker to the disputed Western Sahara region.
In a statement, the council said it decided to “immediately” suspend all ties with the French Senate, including a parliamentary cooperation protocol signed between the two chambers in 2015.
The move followed a visit by French Senate Speaker Gérard Larcher on Monday to the city of Laayoune, the main city in the Western Sahara region.
The Western Sahara issue has been a source of tensions between Algeria and Morocco for some five decades. The issue began in 1975 after the Spanish colonial withdrawal from the region, and the conflict between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front turned into an armed struggle that lasted until 1991 when a ceasefire agreement was signed.
The UN does not recognize the sovereignty claims of either the Polisario Front or Morocco, which took control of most of Western Sahara in a 1975 agreement with Spain and Mauritania.
Morocco proposes extensive autonomy for the Western Sahara region under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum on self-determination, a stance supported by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.
