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Morocco accuses Polisario of incursions into buffer zone

April 3, 2018 at 9:52 am

Morocco has officially accused the Polisario Front of incursions into the buffer zone near Guerguerat, not far from the Mauritania border, and has called on the United Nations to be tougher on the organisation.

Rabat has officially warned that this constitutes a “provocative act that might lead to war”.

In a letter he sent to Security Council President Gustavo Meza-Cuadra on Sunday, the Moroccan ambassador and his permanent representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilal, stressed that “this illegal action committed by the other parties severely threatens the international political process on which the Secretary-General of the United Nations and his Special Envoy are tirelessly working to re-launch”.

He added: “With their repeated violations, which now extend to several areas in the east of the security wall in the Moroccan Sahara, the other parties are seriously threatening any possible opportunity to relaunch the political process.”

Watch: Western Sahara explainer

In a letter published by several Moroccan media outlets, Hilal explained that “violations of military and ceasefire agreements and the escalation of tensions on the ground are contrary to the political process”.

The Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations expressed regret that the international community’s inaction on these violations means that they have continued to take place.

Hilal urged “the Security Council to call on the other parties to cease their actions that shake regional peace, stability and security,” adding:

“The Security Council is urgently being asked to use its authority to enforce respecting the ceasefire and military agreements and to force the Polisario to immediately, unconditionally and completely withdraw from the area that is located in the east of the security wall of the Moroccan Sahara.”

In a statement on Sunday Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, stressed that “Morocco will never allow any change to the historical and legal status of the buffer zone,” adding that the UN has not been tough enough on the Polisario’s provocations.