Algeria announced on Thursday it will reestablish visa requirements for Moroccan nationals effective immediately, accusing its North African neighbour of deploying “Zionist intelligence agents”. In a statement, the Algerian foreign ministry accused Morocco of taking advantage of the visa exemption arrangement to “engage in various actions detrimental to the stability of Algeria and its national security”.

Algiers’ decision comes after several people, including four Moroccans, were arrested in the city of Tlemcen, in western Algeria, early in September over accusations of being part of “a spy network” aimed at “undermining Algerian security and administrative institutions”.

In August 2021, Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing its neighbour of “hostile acts”. At the time, the head of Algerian diplomacy also accused Morocco of spying on Algerian officials with the Israeli Pegasus software and failing in its bilateral obligations, including in regards to the Western Sahara, where Algiers supports the Polisario Front, an independence movement.