Ksar Ich after El Arja and Oued Zelmou: when an unfinished boundary demarcation intersects with the fight against trafficking along the Algerian-Moroccan border

Beyond the silent palm groves and the wadis with contested names, the Algerian-Moroccan border remains one of the places where history, law, and security intersect with the greatest intensity.

Ksar Ich, following El Arja and Oued Zelmou, is not an accident: it is a symptom. A symptom of a line inherited and legally recognized, yet materially incomplete; and also of a discreet but constant front against cross-border trafficking that undermines sovereignty and threatens regional stability.

A Border Episode Laden with Symbolism

The events reported in early February 2026 in the Ksar Ich sector, on the edge of Figuig, immediately stirred collective memory. Placement of markers, removal of fences, nocturnal aerial shots—the sequence, primarily reported by Moroccan media, was described as a “provocation.”

On the Algerian side, there were no loud political statements, no verbal escalations. Only a constant: the securing of the national border amidst heightened criminal pressures.

It is important to recall a simple truth, often overlooked: Algeria does not act on a contested border, but on a border that is legally recognized, whose course is established by international instruments registered with the United Nations. What is lacking is not law, but effective demarcation, left unresolved for decades.

El Arja and Oued Zelmou: Revelatory Precedents

The El Arja case in March 2021 had already exposed this vulnerability. Lands long cultivated by Moroccan farmers were found, according to the 1972 legal demarcation, to be Algerian territory. The social pain was real, the economic losses significant, yet the core issue remained legal and historical: long-standing use does not create sovereignty.

A few months later, at Oued Zelmou, tensions escalated further. Again, there was no military confrontation, but a strain revealing a border closed since 1994, deprived of its natural de-escalation mechanisms, and left to the most anxious media interpretations.

Ksar Ich clearly fits into this continuity: a gray zone where every displaced stone becomes a political act, and every fence a national symbol.

Law: a Solid Framework, Too Often Ignored

Two texts legally underpin the Algerian-Moroccan border:

• The Treaty of Lalla-Maghnia (1845), which clearly assigned the region’s ksour, including Ich, to Morocco, while leaving the southern desert zones undemarcated.
• The Rabat Convention (1972), signed by both sovereign states, ratified, published, and registered with the UN, which specifies the border line and establishes a joint demarcation commission.

One point deserves particular emphasis:

👉 Article 6 of the 1972 Convention authorizes, in the event of prolonged failure by the joint commission, demarcation undertaken by the more diligent party, provided prior notification is given.

In other words, international law does not freeze inaction. It recognizes the necessity, at times, of acting to materialize an already agreed-upon border. What fuels today’s controversy is therefore not the supposed illegality of technical measures, but the lack of public transparency regarding notifications—a fertile ground for accusations of “fait accompli.”

The Security Dimension: Bechar as Key Context

Ignoring the security context would be a critical analytical error.

Between January and February 2026, the National People’s Army conducted a series of major operations in the Béchar region against heavily armed drug-trafficking networks. Three Moroccan individuals were neutralized, and exceptional quantities of processed kif were seized, exceeding eight quintals within a few days.

This is a stark reminder that the western border is not merely a diplomatic line, but a front against organized crime, whose networks directly threaten Algerian youth, the national economy, and collective security. From this perspective, Ksar Ich appears less as an isolated initiative than as a segment of a broader territorial containment strategy.

To date, there are at least ten points, comparable to the El Arja oasis, where Algeria tolerates the presence of Moroccan cultivators in exchange for intelligence. The expulsions at El Arja, Oued Zelmou, and more recently at Ksar Ich, appear primarily motivated by security concerns: Algerian authorities judged that certain Moroccan populations were not cooperating satisfactorily and, in some cases, were complicit with active criminal networks trafficking drugs and weapons.

What the Ich–El Arja–Zelmou Sequence Reveals

Three major lessons emerge:

• Incomplete demarcation is a political time bomb.
• Prolonged border closure amplifies even minor incidents.
• Anti-trafficking efforts are now inseparable from the border issue.

Toward a Constructive Resolution

Algeria has neither interest in escalation nor need to demonstrate force. It does, however, have a duty to protect its territory and the right to demand full implementation of signed agreements.

The path is clear:

• Transparent reactivation of the joint demarcation commission;
• Gradual publication of works and demarcation lines;
• Local de-escalation mechanisms;
• Independent audits cross-referencing law, cartography, and practice.

Borders are strengthened by clarity, not tumult.

And Algeria remains true to itself—an heir to a long historical memory, steadfast in principle, and clear-eyed about the threats of its time—through fidelity to law and sovereignty.

By Belgacem Merbah