AP
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France said Tuesday it was expelling 12 Algerian diplomatic officials a day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials in escalating tensions between the two countries.
Algeria said Monday that its expulsion of 12 French officials was over the arrest of an Algerian consular official by French authorities in a kidnapping case, but relations between the two sides have been deteriorating since last summer.
That’s when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara – a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algeria.
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