Algeria is suspending diplomatic ties with Morocco "effective immediately," according to a statement from the country's president, citing rising antagonism between the two North African neighbors.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra read the statement on behalf of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

It happened about a week after President Tebboune told a security council meeting that Morocco's "constant hostile acts" necessitated "a revision in bilateral relations and the intensification of security checks at the western borders," according to the official APS news agency.

The decision comes after a period of rising tension between the neighbors, who have been embroiled in a long-running conflict and have closed their borders to each other.

In recent weeks, the situation has deteriorated further, with Morocco's UN envoy stating that the people of Algeria's Kabyle region should have the right to decide their future status.

Algeria's backing for the Polisario insurgents' struggle for self-determination in the disputed Western Sahara, which Morocco conquered in 1975, comes to mind. Morocco wishes for regional autonomy.

Algeria, for its part, believes that Morocco supports a separatist group in the Berber region of Kabyle, which it has designated as a terrorist organization.