Geneva Think-thank: Polisario Crumbling Prompts Serious Regional Concern

The crumbling of the Polisario movement, whose members have ties with criminal groups, human traffickers and Al-Qaeda terror cells operating in the Sahel, is a source of serious “concern” for the region, said Alain Jourdan, President of the Geneva Geostrategic Observatory.

“The disintegration of this movement, financed by Algeria and once armed and used by Gaddafi to expand his influence in the region, is now worrying”, said Mr. Jourdan during a conference held last week at the Geneva University on “How the Sahel has become the epicenter of global terrorism?”

For Jourdan, “Algeria, which expressed its willingness to help in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, is not a reliable partner. Its adamant support for the Polisario has become an extremely dangerous destabilizing factor in an already explosive regional context”.

Algeria has disqualified itself from playing such a role. “We understand the efforts it is making to conceal the involvement of Polisario members in terrorist projects and trafficking of all kinds”, added the former Director of Intelligence at the French external security service.

The resolution of the Sahara issue hinges on negotiations leading to autonomy. “However, I am not sure that everyone wants autonomy. What Algeria, which supports the Saharawis, wants is access to the Atlantic coast”, he stressed.