UN Secretary-General scathingly refutes alleged war in the Sahara; clearly says Algeria is a “concerned party” in the regional conflict
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has debunked, in his new report to the Security Council on the Sahara, the thousands of communiqués released by Algeria and the “Polisario” on an imaginary war in the Moroccan Sahara.
In this report which has just been officially published on the UN website, Guterres described the situation in the Moroccan Sahara as being marked by “low intensity tensions and hostilities.” This exposes the false propaganda of Algeria and the “Polisario” on an alleged war in the Moroccan Sahara.
In this context, the UN Secretary General castigated the restrictions and obstructions put by the Polisario to the supervision of the ceasefire by MINURSO, mainly to check the veracity of the so-called war fallaciously reported by the Polisario to the UN Mission and relayed by Algeria.
The Polisario’s objective is to conceal the fact that the so-called war that they have been trying to convey for three years is only a chimera and pure fabrication, mainly meant to deceive the populations sequestered in the Tindouf Camps and to divert attention from the failures of this armed group linked to terrorism and the separatist agenda that it is implementing, on behalf of its Algerian sponsor.
In his report, the UN Chief adamantly confirmed that Algeria is a main party to the Sahara regional dispute, as he mentioned Algeria 20 times. Guterres recalled Algeria’s participation, like other stakeholders, in the informal bilateral consultations held by the Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, in New York on March 30, 2023.
The UNSG also recalled de Mistura’s various visits to Algiers and his meetings with foreign ministers and senior Algerian officials, as a party to the Sahara dispute. This is also confirmed by Security Council resolutions, including 2654, which cites Algeria as many times as Morocco.
The United Nations Secretary-General invited Algeria as a “concerned party” to develop and clarify its position, to advance towards a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution to this dispute, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2654.
He also enjoined Algeria, as a concerned party, to engage in good faith and with the necessary political will, with his Personal Envoy to the Sahara, to achieve a political, realistic, pragmatic, and lasting solution, that is based on compromise and on Security Council resolutions since 2018.
Guterres also revealed the blatant contradictions of Algeria, which is trying to hide behind a pseudo status of “observer State” and at the same time confirmed to the Personal Envoy “that it is very concerned by the absence of a solution”. A concern which says a lot about its indisputable and direct involvement in this artificial dispute since it created it.
The UN Secretary General also pointed the finger at Algeria for “continuing to oppose the round table format”, in blatant violation of Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2654, which confirm that the Round tables are the only framework for the exclusively UN political process.
In addition, the UN Chief explicitly stated that the deterioration of relations between Algeria and Morocco is worrying and continues to affect the situation in the Sahara and the quest for a solution to this regional dispute, noting that the role of Algeria is crucial to resolving this regional conflict.
In a new demonstration of Algeria’s primary responsibility in maintaining this dispute, Guterres indicated that the efforts of his Personal Envoy continue in a context of regional tensions, and that de Mistura took note of the deep concern he heard in several capitals regarding relations between Algeria and Morocco, while citing assurances from officials in Algiers and Rabat that no further escalation was sought.
