Rabat – Algeria’s news agency Agence Algerie Presse (APS) drew scorn and controversy after mixing up Moroccan and Egypt geography in a news piece hostile to Morocco’s territorial integrity.
On Sunday, APS falsely reported that two Egyptian oil companies are intending to invest $1 billion in oil exploration in Western Sahara.
The agency described the investment move as a “flagrant violation of international law.”
APS then faced a wave of criticism for misquoting Saudi-based news outlet Arab News and other Egyptian news outlets to promote hostility against Morocco’s territorial integrity.
It appears the Algerian news agency reported about the project without actually reading anything bar the title of the articles. The source APS quoted makes it clear that the investment project concerned Egypt’s Western Desert and not Morocco’s southern provinces.
On April 29, Arab News announced that two Egyptian companies, Khalda Petroleum and Qarun Petroleum, will invest over $1 billion in oil exploration.
Arab News published the news under the headline: “Egyptian oil explorers to invest $1bn in Western Sahara.”
The headline confused Algerian reporters, who, apparently without reading the article, were quick to strongly condemn the Egyptian companies for their projected plans in Morocco’s southern provinces in Western Sahara.
As it turned out, however, APS’ entrenched pro-Polisario activism led it to lambast the two companies without understanding that the investment will happen in the Western Desert, an area of the Sahara that lies west of the Nile River in Egypt.
Arab News clearly stated “Western Desert” in the opening paragraph.
APS is no stranger to inaccurate reporting.
Read Also: Algeria Makes Unfounded ‘Fake News’ Accusations Against Morocco
The Algerian news agency has long shared fabricated content on Morocco and Western Sahara related topics. The latest of such made-up news has been the agency’s relentless series of false war reports in the aftermath of the Guerguerat crisis.
After Polisario breached the 1991 UN-brokered ceasefire in November 2020, APS became the digital frontline of the separatist’s unrelenting media campaign against Morocco’s territorial integrity.
In January this year, APS also published a misguided report claiming that Polisario’s self-proclaimed Sahrawi Democratic Republic (SADR) is recognized by the UN, the International Court of Justice, and the Court of Justice in the EU.
The claims sought to mislead the new US President Joe Biden in an attempt to convince the new US administration to reverse Trump’s proclamation recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Despite the relentless media campaign, recent indications are that US-Morocco dynamics will not easily be derailed by such pro-Polisario diplomatic activism and media maneuvering.
Last week, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, held a phone call with Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita. In the call, the American diplomat touted the cooperation between Washington and Rabat in several fields, including security.
The US State Department did not include the Western Sahara discussion in its statement about the talks between Blinken and Bourita.
Read Also: Axios: Biden to Uphold US Recognition of Morocco’s Western Sahara Sovereignty
But Axios, quoting sources familiar with the discussion between the two officials, said the US’ position on Western Sahara was one of the key talking points in the Bourita-Blinken conversation.
According to Axios, Blinken informed Bourita that Biden is not planning to reverse Trump’s proclamation.
The sources said that the US will work with Morocco on the appointment of a new UN personal envoy to replace Horst Kohler, who resigned in May 2019.
The appointment seeks to renew talks between the parties to the conflict and to find a political solution in line with Morocco’s autonomy initiative.
