Morocco’s army denies having talks with Polisario separatists

Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces made it clear that they have never undertaken nor will it enter into dialogue with the Polisario front, a military source told the Moroccan news agency MAP.

The denial came after several outlets misinterpreted a UN Secretary General report on the Sahara on bilateral working and coordination mechanisms.

“Following a misinterpretation by some media outlets of the report of the UN chief on the Moroccan Sahara, which relates a so-called agreement between the leadership of the Royal Armed Forces and the Polisario on a bilateral working and coordination mechanism, and while reaffirming the invalidity of this interpretation, it should be pointed out that the Royal Armed Forces have not and will never engage in a dialogue with the Polisario,” the source added.

The Royal Armed Forces are working closely with the MINURSO to ensure compliance with Military Agreement No. 1 and ceasefire agreements and to better prevent any violation of them, it said.

Paragraphs 26 and 27 of the report of the United Nations Secretary General clearly indicate that the Royal Armed Forces have agreed to participate with the MINURSO in a mechanism that seeks a rapprochement between the points of view in accordance with Military Agreement No 1. It is a mechanism between the Royal Armed Forces and MINURSO.

Morocco has been obliged to fight a guerrilla war after retrieving the Sahara provinces from Spain in 1975. At a Cold War context, Algeria offered arms and shelter to the Polisario front and offered headquarters to the self-declared RASD republic, an imaginary state that is not a member of the UN.

The berm completed by Morocco in 1991 halted the hit-and-run tactics of the Polisario militias and was followed by UN-brokered cease-fire agreement still in force up to now.