Morocco - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Rabat

Morocco

February 12, 2026

Rabat 11:18 am

17°C

Archaeologists at the entrance of the Contrebandiers (Smugglers) Cave, some 12 miles from the Moroccan capital, Rabat, Sept. 18, 2021.

Culture

Fossil discovery repositions Morocco at center of human evolution 800,000 years ago

Once overlooked, Morocco has emerged as a focal point of human prehistory, with new discoveries and a landmark report reshaping what we know about our species’ evolution.

An emergency vehicle drives through flood waters as residents are evacuated and relocated to other towns as preventive and emergency evacuations are carried out to move residents living near flood-prone areas following the weather alert and the rise in the water level of the Loukkos River, with flooding expected in the coming days, in Ksar El Kebir on Feb. 1, 2026.

Storm Leonardo displaces 140,000 as heavy floods hit northern Morocco

Heavy rains from the storm have flooded northern Morocco, prompting mass evacuations and straining emergency services.

From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.

A customer browses books at a bookshop in the Moroccan capital Rabat on August 9, 2018. On the main arteries of old Rabat, dozens of itinerant booksellers offer books in French, Arabic, and sometimes in English, up to ten times cheaper than their originals. Despite being prohibited, the pirated-books market is largely tolerated in cities across the North African kingdom. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Morocco’s next generation of writers fights for a place on the shelf

A new book fair in Casablanca spotlights the country’s rising talent and the obstacles that still define Morocco’s fragmented publishing world.

Latest News

Morocco’s markets rise as World Cup spending fuels largest IPO in decades

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO - AUGUST 20: In this handout image from Populous, digital renderings of the proposed Stade Hassan II stadium in Morocco, projected to be the largest football stadium in the world with 115,000 capacity are depicted on August 20, 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco. The stadium design is by Populous and Oulalou + Choi (Photo by Populous via Handout/Getty Images)

Culture

World Cup: Iran fumes over LGBTQ+ themes as Jordan qualifies for first time

A fan waves a Pride flag before the soccer match between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers at Lumen Field, on June 3, 2023, in Seattle, Washington.

Spain, Morocco dismantle drone network flying hashish across border

The Civil Guard, in a joint operation with the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie, has dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to smuggling hashish into Spain using drones, on Nov. 11, 2025.

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A picture taken on May 13, 2013 shows facilities of the factory of the National Moroccan phosphates company (OCP/public) in Marca, near Laayoune, the capial of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. As a global leader in the market for phosphate and its derivatives, OCP has been a key player in the international market since its founding in 1920, the worlds largest exporter of phosphate rock and phosphoric acid and one of the worlds largest fertilizer producers. AFP PHOTOS/FADEL SENNA (Photo credit s

Sahrawis, EU in standoff over Moroccan trade agreement

The Polisario Front criticizes the EU’s farm trade agreement with Morocco because it also applies to the disputed territory of the Western Sahara; by bringing this agreement before the EU’s highest court, the Polisario Front puts its claim for independence back on the agenda.

An indigenous Sahrawi woman walks at a refugee camp of Boudjdour in Tindouf, southern Algeria March 3, 2016. In refugee camps near the town of Tindouf in arid southern Algeria, conditions are hard for indigenous Sahrawi residents. Residents use car batteries for electricity at night and depend on humanitarian aid to get by. The five camps near Tindouf are home to an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees from the disputed region of Western Sahara, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. REUTERS/Zo

Algeria rips House appropriators over Sahara coercion

Algiers is furious at pro-Moroccan language in the annual foreign aid bill.

Brahim Ghali (C), new secretary general of Polisario Front and president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), walks at the Sahrawi refugee camp of Dakhla, southeast of the Algerian city of Tindouf, July 9, 2016. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina? - RTSH3RO

Western Sahara's Polisario Front elects leader

The Sahrawi people have a new chief and a persistent determination to establish recognition from Morocco, one way or the other.

Indigenous Sahrawi women walk through Al Smara desert refugee camp in Tindouf, southern Algeria March 4, 2016. In refugee camps near the town of Tindouf in arid southern Algeria, conditions are hard for indigenous Sahrawi residents. Residents use car batteries for electricity at night and depend on humanitarian aid to get by. The five camps near Tindouf are home to an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees from the disputed region of Western Sahara, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. REUTERS/

Why Sahrawi refugees don't count on census to provide relief

Some international parties are pushing for an independent census regarding the number of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria, but some in the camps say they have reasons to be opposed.

What's next in Western Sahara dispute after death of Polisario leader?

Late Polisario Front leader Mohamed Abdelaziz kept the dispute over Western Sahara peaceful, but a fruitless, 25-year-long cease-fire with Morocco has young Sahrawis impatient.

An indigenous Sahrawi woman walks outside her tent in Al Smara desert refugee camp in Tindouf, southern Algeria March 4, 2016. In refugee camps near the town of Tindouf in arid southern Algeria, conditions are hard for indigenous Sahrawi residents. Residents use car batteries for electricity at night and depend on humanitarian aid to get by. The five camps near Tindouf are home to an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees from the disputed region of Western Sahara, according to the United Nations refugee agency

Amid decreasing aid, Sahrawis seek self-sufficiency

A Sahrawi woman's successful business of producing traditional garments is helping other Western Sahara refugees support themselves in Algeria after decades of dependency on aid organizations.

Tunisian-born Holocaust survivor Susana Peretz, 79, sits in her home in the southern city of Beersheba April 4, 2013. Some 192,000 Holocaust survivors live in Israel and about a third have sought aid from the Foundation for the Benefit of the Holocaust Victims in Israel. According to surveys by the foundation, 19 percent of the survivors have admitted to going without adequate amounts of food and 14 percent had to forego medical treatment at least once a year due to financial hardship. The report said that

Israel's Arab Jews officially recognized as victims of Holocaust

Roughly 1,000 of Israel's North African and Iraqi Jews have requested to receive a one-time compensation grant that recognizes the suffering of those communities under the Nazi regime.

Why young Sahrawis are joining military movement against Morocco

Sahrawi youth have grown tired of waiting for the United Nations to break the stalemate between Western Sahara and Morocco.

Women walk by Moroccan police on the streets of El Aaiun, western Sahara, November 6, 2005. Moroccan police were on alert fearing Saharawi demonstrations calling for self-determination to the Saharawi people on the 30th anniversary of the Green March. On November 6, 1975 the so-called Green March into Western Sahara began when 300,000 Moroccans crossed into Western Sahara following the orders of King Hassan II of Morocco to force Spain to hand over the territory. As a result, Spain abandoned Western Sahara

Why some in Western Sahara oppose $1 million US grant

The Obama administration is planning to approve a $1 million grant for civil society organizations in Western Sahara, but many Sahrawis have concerns about the move.

U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) speaks at a news conference in Miami, Florida, August 12, 2015. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) is seen on the right. Ros-Lehtinen called the opening of a U.S. embassy in Cuba a "diplomatic charade rewarding the tyrannical Castro regime.", local media reported. REUTERS/Joe Skipper - RTX1O2SY

Obama administration steps into Western Sahara minefield

The agency is close to awarding a $1 million grant for the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.

Tensions flare in Western Sahara dispute

One word used by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was all it took to reignite tensions over disputed territory in northwest Africa.

Western Sahara controversy hits Congress

Morocco comes under scrutiny on human rights panel.