ALGERIA closed its airspace to all Moroccan planes on Wednesday as a diplomatic row between the two north African nations continued to escalate.

“The High Security Council has decided to shut its airspace immediately to all civilian and military aircraft as well as to those registered in Morocco,” the Algerian presidency said in a statement.

Algeria broke off diplomatic ties with its neighbour on August 25, accusing it of “hostile actions” after months of heightened tensions.

Rabat accuses Algeria of backing the Polisario Front, which leads the resistance to Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara.

Algiers, meanwhile, says that its neighbour is supporting “terrorist groups,” including the separatist Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie, which it blames for last month’s devastating wildfires.

Algeria is also angry about Morocco’s normalisation of relations with Israel, seeing it as a betrayal of the Palestinian people.

Wednesday’s decision followed a meeting of the High Security Council chaired by President Abdelmadjide Tebboune.

It said that the decision had been made in response to “the continuation of provocations and hostile practices by Morocco.”