First Independent Mena Newspaper
Emboldened by Algeria’s military and diplomatic cover, the Polisario inaugurated 2018 with a resumption of provocations in the Guerguarat area, the southernmost tip of Morocco’s southern provinces, the Sahara. Three armed Polisario men have barred the road for an hour and a half to participants in the Desert Sahara Challenge rally competition departing from Dakhla […]
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Canadian diplomat Colin Stewart as his Special Representative for the Sahara and Chief of the UN mission, the MINURSO. Stewart succeeds his fellow countrywoman Kim Bolduc, who finished her mission as MINURSO chief on Nov. 22, said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in the daily press briefing. “The Secretary General […]
Italy’s deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro made it clear that the referendum option does not offer a feasible solution to the regional conflict over the Sahara and that the Algerian-Backed Polisario separatists had better give up the chimera of conducting a vote on the Sahara’s independence. The Italian official made the remarks during the presentation, […]
The Polisario used to relay triumphalist communiqués since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in 1991, boasting victories and listing successes, even if they are more imaginary than real. However, the language of an official internal document distributed recently to members of the front’s leadership betrays this triumphalism and concedes “fatal errors” made in the […]
Morocco’s foreign Ministry has issued a statement welcoming the UN Security Resolution 2351 on the Sahara and deploring Algeria’s role in perpetuating the conflict. “Morocco takes note and expresses satisfaction at the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council resolution 2351,” the statement said while holding Algeria responsible for perpetuating the conflict. The resolution, adopted […]
The rug has been pulled from under the Polisario’s feet in the battle over Guerguarat wherefrom the Algerian-backed separatists had to withdraw in extremis to avoid an outspoken condemnation by the UN Security Council. The adoption of the UN Security Council resolution 2351 last Friday was delayed to allow for the Polisario pullback from the […]
The newly adopted UN Security Council Resolution on the Sahara highlights Morocco’s efforts to settle the Sahara conflict through the autonomy initiative and calls on the other parties, notably Algeria, to uphold their responsibility in settling the conflict, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Omar Hilale said. Speaking at a press conference following the […]
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Friday Resolution 2351 extending the mandate of the UN mission in the Sahara, the MINURSO, for another year and calling on the parties to the conflict to engage in a fifth round of negotiations. The resolution, drafted by Nikki R. Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, […]
The Algeria-based separatist militia, the Polisario, has threatened to fire at the UN peacekeeping mission in the Sahara, MINURSO, if it patrols the demilitarized buffer strip as part of monitoring the 1991 cease-fire agreement. UN Spokesperson told the press in New York that the MINURSO should carry out its mission fully and enjoy unhindered freedom […]
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 […]