Spain will not participate in the «African Lion 2024» military exercise co-hosted by Morocco and the United States, according to Spanish military sources. This decision follows Spain's absence from the exercise in 2021, 2022, and 2023. While some media attribute the latest non-participation to the exercise's inclusion of the Sahrawi locality of Mehbes near the Morocco-Algeria border, potentially raising tensions with Algeria, Spain previously cited budget constraints for missing the 2021 edition, which coincided with a period of strained relations between Rabat and Madrid. Scheduled for May 20-31, 2024, «African Lion 2024» will involve multiple Moroccan regions including Agadir, Tan-Tan, Mehbes, Tata, Kénitra, Ben Guérir, and Tifnit. Planning meetings for the exercise took place in Agadir from January 29th to February 2nd.
