Western Sahara independence chief leaves Spain for Algeria

MADRID (AP) — The leader of a movement seeking independence from Morocco who is at the center of a diplomatic row between Rabat and Madrid has flown out of Spain to Algeria. Brahim Ghali was released from a hospital in northern Spain following more than six weeks of treatment after contracting COVID-19. Ghali heads the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is based in refugee camps in western Algeria, as well as the Polisario Front. His group has long wanted to break the Western Sahara away from Moroccan rule. His presence in Spain angered Morocco, which annexed Western Sahara in the 1970s. After Ghali’s arrival in Algeria he was taken to a military hospital and visited by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.