Magharebia

[AFP/Pierre-Phillipe Marcou] Spanish police will join their Moroccan colleagues for a new strategic project announced December 1st in Madrid.
Terrorism 2013-12-05

By Hassan Benmehdi in Casablanca for Magharebia – 05/12/2013

Moroccan and Spanish security forces are working together to confront shared threats.

Morocco and Spain on Sunday (December 1st) announced plans to create a joint police panel.

National Security (DGSN) head Bouchaib Rmail and his Spanish counterpart Ignacio Cosido agreed on the measure last week in Cordoba during their first bi-lateral security meeting.

Rmail pointed out that “fruitful co-operation” between Moroccan and Spanish security services had already “yielded positive results” in the fight against crimes that “threaten both countries.”

Those include “terrorism in all of its different forms, illegal immigration, human trafficking perpetrated by mafia networks, and organised crime”, the DGSN chief said.

Previous counter-terrorism collaboration between Morocco and Spain had been “unquestionably successful”, Rmail said, justifying plans to boost co-operation on the ground and in intelligence-sharing.

According to international relations expert Mohamed El Ghoufir, terrorism and illegal immigration are major challenges for both countries, “hence the importance of adequate co-operation that is effective”.

“The phenomenon of overseas Moroccans who support the radical views of AQIM is now a major cause for concern for Spain, which also comes under frequent attack from sub-Saharans who travel via Mount Gourougou, neighbouring the city of Nador, to reach Melilla,” he told Magharebia.

Abdelkader Jallouli, a journalist who specialises in security issues, pointed out that the police chief meeting also coincided with the Spanish government’s decision to extradite Mohamed El Bali, a Moroccan terror suspect arrested in Mellila.

“Mohamed El Bali is wanted by Morocco for his involvement in terrorist attacks and faces prosecution for being the co-ordinator of Al Mouahidoun and Attawhid jihadist cells, which were broken up in May in the provinces of Nador and Fnideq,” Jallouli explained.

For international law researcher Kamal Essalim, the increase in co-operation by Morocco and Spain indicates their “pragmatic” approach towards security and the fight against terrorism.

“Because AQIM’s working methods are changing and developing, still with the primary goal of committing crimes that do as much damage as possible,” Essalim added.