Rhino: Agencies – Algeria expresses its condemnation of the French government’s decision to recognize the autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region, within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, the Algerian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

In a statement on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry added that France informed Algeria of the decision in the last few days.

‘Algeria emphasizes that it will draw all the consequences of this decision and holds the French government alone fully and completely responsible for it,’ the statement said.

Algeria’s position on the sovereignty dispute over Western Sahara is to implement a UN plan that includes a referendum on self-determination. Algeria considers the Moroccan presence in the region to be an occupation.

Morocco considers the territory part of its territory, but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front claims independence.

Morocco took control of most of Western Sahara in 1975 after the departure of Spanish colonialism. A guerrilla war ensued with the Polisario Front, which represents the population of the territory and says the area is rightfully theirs.

The UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991 and sent a mission to help organize a referendum on the region’s future, but the parties have been deadlocked ever since.