Morocco scolds Spain over virus help for independence leader

Moroccan foreign ministry says move by Spain is inconsistent with ‘spirit of partnership and good neighborliness’.

Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has summoned the Spanish ambassador to convey the government’s “regret” over Spain’s decision to receive for medical treatment the leader of a regional group fighting Morocco for independence. Spanish officials revealed last week that Brahim Ghali, 73, is hospitalised in Spain for treatment of COVID-19. Ghali heads the Polisario Front, an Algeria-backed breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the Western Sahara region, periodically engaging the Moroccan armed forces.