Moroccan Army May Secure Buffer Zone as Polisario Attacks Escalate in Western Sahara

The issue of securing the buffer zone by the Moroccan army is resurfacing after the attacks carried out south of Aousserd in the Dakhla-Oued region and in the city of Es-Semara by the Polisario. "The objective of the buffer zone was to maintain the ceasefire, but with the violation of the agreement by the Polisario, and its attacks against secured civilian areas, it becomes logical to request its cancellation and to allow the Moroccan army to secure it," writes former Prime Minister Sâaddedine El Otmani on his Facebook page.

International relations expert Hicham Moatassim also addresses the issue. "The violation by this organization of the ceasefire agreement and its action to plunge the region into a climate of non-peace, making it a haven for terrorist movements and a fertile platform for criminal groups, will push Morocco to cancel the buffer zone and will lead the international community to replace the political and diplomatic approach to managing this file with a security and military approach to control the region and ensure its stability," he said in Al-Ayyam 24.

According to Moatassim, the cancellation of the buffer zone and its imminent security will mark the beginning of a radical change in the international community’s approach to this conflict. "This conflict will undoubtedly see new developments, and the intensification of visits by American officials in the region is one of many indicators confirming the orientation of the international community and the United Nations towards a final resolution of this conflict and pressure on the Algerian military regime to accept to settle this conflict within the political framework, otherwise it will pay a high price both militarily and structurally, particularly in the context of its direct support for the Polisario’s military movements in the region," he further estimates.