UN Security Council denounces blockade of Guerguarate crossing point by Polisario

The UN Security Council has denounced the blockade by the Polisario armed militias last fall of the Guerguarate crossing point that hampered the movement of people and goods between Morocco and Mauritania.

 

This came during the Security Council’s semi-annual consultation meeting on the Sahara which was held on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, behind closed doors and which ended without any declaration.

 

While denouncing the blockade by the Polisario armed militias of the Guerguarate crossing point, the Security Council members highlighted the peaceful action of the Royal Armed Forces which made it possible to re-establish free movement there once and for all.

 

Last fall, after the Polisario bandits blocked commercial and passenger traffic at Guerguarat for three weeks, and after the Polisario refused the calls by the UN to leave the passage, Morocco decided to act in line with international law and its responsibilities. So, the Moroccan army intervened to clear the crossing point and secure the area.

 

According to diplomatic sources in New York, the Security Council followed a briefing by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara, Colin Stewart, regarding the situation on the ground, marked by violations of the ceasefire by the Polisario and the front’s obstructions to the freedom of movement of MINURSO, thus hampering the ability of the UN mission to implement its mandate to supervise the ceasefire.

 

In this connection, the Security Council members insisted on the imperative for the Polisario to fully cooperate with MINURSO, noting that the Front is dangerously obstructing the MINURSO’s ceasefire supervision, by blocking its patrols and preventing the supply of military observers.

 

Some members of the Council expressed their serious concern about the Polisario’s renunciation of the ceasefire, urging it to respect it and to refrain from any act of provocation.

Meanwhile, the Council members praised Morocco’s cooperation with MINURSO, in particular the vaccination of the mission members as part of the national vaccination campaign against Covid-19. In this regard, they highlighted the success of the Moroccan vaccination campaign.