Moroccan and Algerian delegates brawl at TICAD meeting in Japan
Published date: Wed, 28 Aug 2024 13:15:32 +0700
This is the shocking moment diplomats from Morocco and Algeria brawled over an uninvited guest at an international meeting in Tokyo, Japan.
Footage shows the Moroccan representative, seen wearing a brown suit, leaping onto the conference table to remove a name card in front of Ambassador Lamine Baali of the Sahrawi Republic to the African Union, who gatecrashed the meeting on August 23.
An Algerian delegate then tackled the Moroccan, sparking a full-blown brawl that reportedly forced the suspension of the session.
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a partially recognised state claiming independence in the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco. It is not officially recognised by Japan.
Japanese officials later intervened and enforced the host country's official stance on the dispute.
The Western Sahara conflict is a long-standing territorial dispute between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic seeking to end Moroccan control over the former Spanish region.
Morocco currently controls around 80 per cent of Western Sahara, while the SADR controls the other 20 per cent mainly composed of desert areas along Algeria.