Morocco Freezes Involvement in Saudi-Led Coalition in Yemen, Recalls Ambassador

By Staff, Agencies

Moroccan government officials said the kingdom stopped taking part in military action with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s war, and recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Tensions have been mounting between Morocco and Saudi Arabia, amid international concerns about Saudi actions in the Yemen war and other issues.

Relatively, a Moroccan government official said Thursday that Morocco no longer takes part in military interventions or ministerial meetings in the Saudi-led coalition.

The official didn’t elaborate and the Moroccan government did not divulge details of its military’s participation in the coalition, which has been at war in Yemen since 2015. The war killed thousands and displaced over 3 million people.

A month earlier, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said in an interview 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.”