Turkey calls for just solution in Western Sahara

Turkey has announced its support for a “just and lasting” political solution to the Western Sahara issue, Anadolu reported yesterday.

“Turkey supports the efforts to achieve a just and lasting political solution to the Western Sahara issue within the scope of United Nations Security Council resolutions,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hami Aksoy, said in a statement.

Aksoy added that Turkey is adhering to measures taken by Morocco to “ensure free movement of persons and goods in the Guerguerat buffer zone of the Morocco-Mauritania highway.”

The spokesman stressed on the importance of keeping the Guerguerat buffer zone open for passage.

Last week the Moroccan army launched a campaign in the area in what is said was an effort to secure the Guerguerat border post and ensure the resumption of civil and commercial traffic.

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“This non-offensive operation, without any combat intent, is conducted according to clear rules of engagement that require avoiding any contact with civilian persons and using weapons only in self-defence,” the army said in a statement.

Occupied by Spain until 1975, Western Sahara has remained the subject of dispute between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front for more than four decades.

The Polisario, a national liberation movement that seeks to end Morocco’s presence in Western Sahara, has long called for a popular referendum to decide the region’s political fate.

After years of conflict, the two parties signed an UN-backed ceasefire in 1991.