Alwaght- Morocco has abandoned Saudi Arabia-led coalition involved in war on Yemen, and recalled its ambassador to the kingdom amid increasing tensions between Riyadh and Rabat.
A Moroccan government official said Thursday that Morocco no longer takes part in military interventions or ministerial meetings in the Saudi-led coalition.
Morocco’s government has not divulged details of its participation in the war which has killed thousands and displaced over 3 million people since 2015 but reports suggest that the African country contributed with six planes and 1,500 troops.
Last year, Morocco pledged to pull its warplanes out of the Saudi war, citing a need for military buildup at home.
Saudi Arabia invaded the Arab world’s most impoverished nation in March 2015 to reinstate Riyadh's ally, Abdu Rabuh Mansour Hadi. The war has failed to achieve its stated objective, while over 14,000 have been killed and many more displaced as a result of the invasion.
Before Morocco, Malaysia had withdrawn its forces and left the coalition amid international outrage over the heavy civilian toll.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said in an interview last month with Al Jazeera that Morocco’s participation in Yemen had “changed.”
Bourita also hinted that Rabat had serious reservations about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent tour of other Arab countries, amid international condemnation of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.
According to one of the sources, Morocco declined to host the Saudi crown prince in an unusual snub, citing the Moroccan king’s “busy agenda.”
After Bourita's interview, Saudi television channel Al-Arabiya aired a documentary on the disputed Western Sahara, supporting claims that Morocco invaded it after Spanish colonizers left in 1975. Morocco considers the Western Sahara its southern territories.
Morocco recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia for consultations after the report aired, according to another Moroccan government official.
