South African authorities have seized in Port Elizabeth a New Zealand-bound vessel carrying 50 tons of Moroccan phosphate coming from the southern port of Laâyoune, reports say. A South African judge has ordered the seizure of the vessel, which docked in the South African port for provisions, Moroccan papers Assabah and Al Ahdath Al Maghribia […]
Tag: Laayoune
Morocco lets 17 UN Civilian Staff back in Sahara
Morocco has agreed to let in 17 civilian staff of the UN Mission in the Sahara, the MINURSO, while conditioning their return on upholding neutrality and non-interference. “17 employees of the civilian component of the MINURSO are preparing to join their offices in the UN mission’s headquarters in Laayoune,” a source that requested not to […]
Record 18.2 mln Passengers Passed through Morocco’s Airports in 2016
The number of passengers at Moroccan airports grew 3.58% in 2016 compared to 2015 to reach a record 18.2 million, said the national airport office (ONDA.) This increase is ascribed to the momentum witnessed in international air traffic, which rose by 3% accounting for 16.31 million passengers in 2016, said the ONDA in its latest […]
Chief of UN Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous visits Laayoune
After Rabat, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous flew to the southern city of Laayoune where he will meet local authorities and visit the headquarters of the UN mission in the Sahara, MINURSO. In Rabat, Ladsous held talks with Charki Drais, Minister Delegate to the Interior. Talks focused on the security conditions in […]
Chief of UN Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous in Morocco this Week
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous said he would pay a visit to Morocco this week to meet Moroccan officials and visit the headquarters of the UN mission to the Sahara, MINURSO. The announcement of this visit surprised many as the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy Christopher Ross saw his visit to Morocco postponed on […]
Polisario ‘Diplomat’, Persona Non-Grata in Laayoune
Moroccan authorities in Laayoune airport denied entry to Polisario official, M’Hamed Salem Hamda Birouk, who serves as an “ambassador” of the separatist group in Argentina. The Polisario official, who was intending to visit his family in Laayoune, was denied access to the city and spent Monday night in the airport. He had to return back, […]
MINURSO Member Caught Spying on Moroccan Security Forces in Laayoune
A member of the UN mission to the Sahara (MINURSO) was recently caught spying on the Moroccan police in the southern city of Laayoune, the Assabah daily reported on July 13. The MINURSO member was intercepted while secretly filming a sit-in by a bunch of separatists in a small neighborhood in Laayoune, the same source […]
Ennaama Asfari or the Miracle of a Hunger Striker
Inmate Ennaama Asfari claims he has been on a hunger strike for almost a month, yet he does not seem to suffer from any weakness, pallor or weight loss. Is this a miracle or does he have a superhuman strength? Neither is the answer. Ennaama Asfari and 12 of his inmates are pretending to be […]
Rabat Resumes Contacts with Brussels Raising Hope for Spat End
Morocco has decided to resume contacts with the European Union after having rebuffed European institutions following European Court ruling invalidating a farm deal signed with Rabat over Sahara issue. The move comes few days after the visit paid to Rabat by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini. During this trip, Mogherini voiced the […]
Lalla Joumala, the Princess, the Ambassador
During the Council of Ministers chaired Saturday in the southern city of Laayoune, King Mohammed VI appointed some 40 new Ambassadors to several foreign capitals. The official list of the new ambassadors has not been disclosed yet, but press reports, quoting reliable sources from the Foreign Ministry, leaked some names. Among these, there is Lalla […]









