While the position has been vacant for nearly two years following the resignation of the German Horst Köhler, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, is having trouble appointing the Organization’s special envoy for the Sahara. A new name proposal was rejected by the Polisario, protected by Algeria.
As part of its military cooperation with Israel, Morocco has acquired drones that it has used against the Polisario Front in the Sahara conflict open since the ceasefire was broken on November 13, 2020.
The French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, stated that the French government regretted the decision of the La République en Marche (LREM) party to open a committee in the Sahara.
Morocco has decided to equip its Auxiliary Forces (FA) with new equipment in total secrecy. This is to strengthen these security apparatuses for future missions, particularly in the Sahara where hostilities have resumed with a vengeance since last November.
In the run-up to the next meeting of the Security Council scheduled for April 21, Morocco, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs and African Cooperation, has given the green light for the appointment of a United Nations special envoy for the Sahara. Nasser Bourita denounces the actions of Algeria and its protégé, the Polisario.
The normalization of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel in exchange for the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara makes Amazigh activists happy. They support this historic rapprochement but do not receive the support of the Israeli authorities in return.
The Sahara issue remains a concern for the United Nations Security Council. This issue will be addressed at the next session of the UN organization.
The presence of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) has been increasingly noticeable in recent months in the border region with Algeria. They are working to extend the Sahara sand wall and to ensure the permanent security of this very sensitive area.
Military maneuvers will take place in the Moroccan Sahara as part of the African Lion 21 exercises scheduled for next June. A first.
The American airline Delta Airlines now displays the complete map of Morocco including the territory of the Sahara. This reinforces the decree recognizing the United States’ sovereignty over the kingdom.
The French political scientist, specialist in the Arab world and Islam in the West, Gilles Kepel, rules out any change in the American position on the Sahara issue. The predecessor of Joe Biden had signed, on December 10, 2020, a decree recognizing American sovereignty of Morocco over the Sahara.
Slowly but surely, Morocco is trying to reconquer "the points considered as liberated zones by the Polisario" in the Sahara. However, the tensions between the kingdom and the independence movement are not subsiding.