The

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

–

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

border is 1,427 km (887 mi) in length and runs from

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

in the north, to the tripoint with

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

in the south. The border has been officially closed to all travel since 1994, although clandestine crossings are common.

Description

The boundary starts in the north on the Mediterranean Sea just west of Marsa Ben M'Hidi; it then proceeds overland toward the south via a series of irregular lines, veering slightly to the southeast. Near the Moroccan town of Figuig it veers sharply to the west, proceeding then in a broadly south-westerly direction via a series of straight and irregular lines. Upon reaching the Draa River the border then follows this for some distance, before veering sharply to the south, whereupon a straight north–south line proceeds for 116 km (72 mi) down to the Western Sahara tripoint.

History

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

occupied much of the northern coastal areas of Algeria in the period 1830–47, which had hitherto been subject to the nominal control of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Morocco initially managed to maintain its independence throughout the '

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

' in the late 19th century, whereby European colonial control was established in the rest of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The border between it and the Ottoman domains to the east had been vague, and Morocco maintained a traditional, though often weakly enforced, claim to large areas of north-west Africa.''Security Problems with Neighboring States''
– Countrystudies.us France sought to rectify this, and as a result a border was delimited from the Mediterranean south to Teniet el-Sassi via the Treaty of Lalla Marnia of 18 March 1845. Protocols confirming this treaty were signed on 20 July 1901 and 20 April 1902, which also extended the frontier south to Figuig, though not in any great detail. The thinly scarcely inhabited areas south of Figuig the border remained undemarcated, subject to vague and ill-defined administrative practices on the ground of uncertain legal standing. In 1912, via the Treaty of Fes, France and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

partitioned Morocco between them, with the northern littoral becoming

Spanish protectorate in Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

(excluding

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

, which later became an

international zone An international zone is any area not fully subject to the border control policies of the state in which it is located. There are several types of international zones ranging from special economic zones and sterile zones at ports of entry ex ...

) and the rest

French Protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when List of rulers of Morocco, Sultan ...

(minus

Ifni The Territory of Ifni () was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands. It had a total area of , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing. The present-day Mor ...

, which formed a Spanish exclave). Morocco gained full independence in 1956, followed by Algeria in 1962. The uncertainty over much of the border alignment, and Morocco's claims for a so-called ' Greater Morocco' encompassing much of north-west Africa, led to the Sand War of 1963. Various agreements were signed in 1969-70 aiming to provide a peaceful resolution of the dispute, which resulted in the treaty of 15 June 1972 which demarcated for the first time the entire boundary. However, relations worsened when Spain announced its intention to pull out of

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...

(modern Western Sahara) in 1975, with Morocco then annexing the northern two-thirds, and later the whole, of the territory. Algeria opposed the annexation and provided shelter for the

Polisario Front The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ), better known by its acronym Polisario Front, is a Sahrawi nationalism, Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to end the occupatio ...

Saharawi nationalist militia and Saharawi refugees on its territory.Entelis, John P. with Lisa Arone. "The Maghrib"
''Algeria: a country study''
.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Unite ...

(December 1993) As Algeria slid into

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in the 1990s, relations once again soured, with Algeria closing the border in 1994. Relations thawed slightly with the advent of peace in Algeria in the early 2000s, though at present the border remains closed. Travel and trade between the two countries is allowed, but must be done either by air or sea.

Settlements near the border

Algeria

* Marsa Ben M'Hidi * Maghnia * Magoura * Forthassa Gharbia * Beni Ounif * Er Remlia

Morocco

* Ahfir *

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

* Touissit * Sidi Aissa * El Hammam * Figuig * Zenaga * Aïn Chaïr * Taouz *

Merzouga Merzouga (, ) is a village in southeastern Morocco. The village is near the Erg Chebbi dunes, one of the tallest in the Sahara. It is about southeast of Rissani, about from Erfoud and about from the Algeria–Morocco border, Algerian border. S ...

* Rgabi Ait Hassou * M'Hamid El Ghizlane

References