Responses to the Gulf crisis in the Maghreb

Governments in the Maghreb (northwest Africa) have generally opposed the military offensive against Iraq while condemning the invasion and calling for withdrawal. Even Morocco, which initially sent a small contingent of troops to Saudi Arabia, has moved closer to its neighbours in the Union of the Arab Maghreb which has been active in pressing for a negotiated settlement. Popular responses throughout the Maghreb have been strongly in support of Iraq and against the war; huge demonstrations have taken place in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Fuelled by widespread and growing political frustration and by deteriorating conditions, popular resentment at Western (and particularly US) intervention in the region and in Arab affairs has grown dramatically since the war started in January and is likely to provide the basis for political instability in the Maghreb over the coming months and even years.