After the United States, France, MINURSO and UN Sahara envoy Staffan de Mistura have also condemned the terrorist rocket attacks launched by the Algeria-backed Polisario armed militias on the Moroccan Sahara city of Smara.
“France condemns the attack claimed by the Polisario Front against the city of Smara on Monday, May 5, which left one civilian injured,” said a statement issued by French Mission to the United Nations.
“This attack threatens regional stability and jeopardizes the negotiation process launched following the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2797 (2025)”, added the statement calling on the Polisario Front to respect the ceasefire and the UNSC resolution.
France has expressed support for ongoing negotiations to end the Sahara conflict which has lasted too long, reaffirming that Morocco’s autonomy plan under the Kingdom’s sovereignty is “the only basis for achieving a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable peace.”
MINURSO has also reacted to the Polisario’s criminal and provocative attacks on Smara. The UN Mission in Sahara “expressed deep concern over rocket firing in civilian areas and urged the parties to avoid any act that may jeopardize the ongoing political process”, said UN Secretary-General Spokesman during Thursday briefing.
For his part, UN Sahara Envoy De Mistura said: “This is a time for dialogue and negotiations, not a time for military escalation.” These attacks underscore the urgent need to return to the ceasefire and negotiate a lasting mutually acceptable political solution to the Sahara regional conflict, he stated.
The timing of the Polisario rocket attacks is not fortuitous as they come before the upcoming quadripartite talks in Washington on the Sahara and coincide with the US-led African Lion exercise in southern Morocco and the visit of foreign diplomats to Laayoune and the visit of U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Duke Buchan to Dakhla.
The Polisario used Iranian-rockets in the Smara attacks which took place in the wake of the telephone conversation held between the foreign ministers of Iran and Algeria bearing in mind that Teheran is turning the Polisario into the Houthis of West and North Africa.
The participation of Polisario in the large-scale deadly attacks orchestrated by the Algerian regime against Mali is an evidence that Algeria and its Polisario militias are part of Iran-led Anti-American “Axis of Resistance,” seeking to create regional chaos in the Sahel and Sahara to shift U.S. strategic focus.
The Polisario attacks, which come after the visits paid to Algeria by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), show the Algerian regime’s reluctance and refusal to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2797 endorsing Autonomy plan under Moroccan Sovereignty.
According to some analysts, the Algerian rulers would prefer U.S. sanctions rather than conceding defeat in the Sahara issue. But, their destabilizing strategy, based on the use of terrorism and separatism as a political weapon in the region, is backfiring with a shift in regional and international landscape.
