Brahim Ghali returned to Algeria after being hospitalized in a Spanish hospital, which led to the Spanish-Moroccan diplomatic dispute.

The leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, Brahim Ghali, returned to Algeria after spending more than a month in Spain.

The stay of the head of the Polisario Front in the Spanish hospital triggered a diplomatic dispute between Spain and Morocco.

“He arrived safely,” said Jalil Mohamed, a spokesman for the Polisario Front in Spain.

Polisario Front official Abdelkader Taleb Omar told Algeria’s APS News Agency that Gali arrived in Algiers at around 3 am (0200 GMT), where he will continue to recover from severe COVID-19 cases.

He added that Gali’s improved health means he no longer needs to be hospitalized in Spain.

Algeria’s national television broadcasted President Abdulmajid Tebun’s visit to Gali at the military hospital, but did not disclose the details of their discussions.

Rabat has not yet commented on Gali’s departure from Spain, but has previously stated that it alone will not resolve the dispute.

The Polisario Front supported by Algeria is fighting for the independence of Western Sahara, which was a Spanish colony until the mid-1970s, and Morocco claimed sovereignty.

The Madrid government stated that Gali suffered from severe COVID-19 and was taken to a Spanish hospital in April for humanitarian reasons.

After a remote hearing on war crimes with the Spanish High Court, he left Spain for a few hours. After the hearing, The judge did not impose any restrictions The leader of Polisario allowed him to leave the country.

Spain decided to let Gali enter a hospital in Logrono, a city in northern Spain, without notifying Rabat, according to the Algerian document. Anger Morocco.

Moroccan officials suggested, The sudden influx of last month After Moroccan security forces appeared to relax border controls, as many as 10,000 migrants and refugees went to Ceuta, the Spanish North African enclave, in retaliation.

The Pedro Sanchez government accused Rabat of “blackmailing” and “aggression” against the arrivals.

Algeria’s support for the independence movement of the Polisario Front is also the source of Morocco’s anger.