Polisario threatens UN peace process as Morocco’s Sahara position gains more international support
More African states have expressed support for Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara by opening consulates there at a context the Polisario, more isolated than ever, threatens to resume violations of UN-ceasefire agreement.
In a single day, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau opened consulates in the southern city of Dakhla. A couple of days later, other African countries, namely the Kingdom of Eswatini and Zambia, followed suit.
These countries joined a group of mostly African states that took their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity to the level of opening diplomatic representation in the Sahara. These include Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, the Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Morocco has also reinforced its sovereignty over its Sahara waters by adopting two laws updating the limits of its territorial waters and of its exclusive economic zone.
Meanwhile, the Polisario, supported by Algeria, feels that its days within the African union are numbered as the spectre of its expulsion looms with two thirds of African states supporting Morocco’s stand on the Sahara issue and decrying the Polisario’s membership in the continental organization as an aberration as the separatist militias lacks all state’s attributes.
Provocation
Sensing a tightening of the UN’s position regarding its repetitive violations of the UN ceasefire agreement and its provocative acts in the area, east of the Moroccan-built security wall, the Polisario has threatened once again to repeat its attempts to block the Guerguarat border crossing between Morocco and Mauritania.
A letter sent by separatist leader to the UN Secretary General states clearly the intention of the Polisario to collide with the UN mission in the Sahara the MINURSO.
Polisario said in the letter that it will allow what it calls “civilians” to stage sit-ins in the border crossings and that it will provide them with a military cover.
This comes few days ahead of the UN Security Council meeting on the Sahara to renew the MINURSO mandate.
The latest report by UN chief on the Sahara deplored worsening cooperation with the Polisario and cited multiple violations by the separatist militia that pose a risk to regional peace and security.
As Morocco gains more international support for its position on the Sahara, the Polisario is rebuked and waits for tougher times of international isolation as its paymaster, Algeria, heads strait to a financial crisis.
Indeed, Algerian President Abdelmejid Teboune cited his country’s rigid position in support of the separatist chimera as a reason for not seeking an IMF loan. He said such loans mean that his country has to compromise on its position regarding the Sahara. This indirectly implies that Algeria’s hostility to Morocco’s territorial unity is rejected by the international community and global powers in particular.
