Morocco Mobilizes Military to End Polisario Blockade in Western Sahara

After having exercised the greatest restraint, in the face of the serious and unacceptable provocations to which the militias of the "Polisario" have indulged in the buffer zone of Guergarate in the Moroccan Sahara, the Kingdom of Morocco had no choice but to assume its responsibilities in order to put an end to the situation of blockade generated by these actions and restore free civil and commercial movement, indicates the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad in a press release.

The department of Nasser Bourita recalls that the Polisario and its militias, who have been in the area since October 21, 2020, have engaged in acts of banditry, blocked the movement of people and goods on this road axis, and continuously harassed the Military Observers of Minurso. For the ministry, these documented actions constitute real premeditated acts of destabilization, which alter the status of the area, violate the military agreements and represent a real threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire. Moreover, they undermine the chances of any relaunch of the political process desired by the international community, it notes.

Since 2016, the "Polisario" has multiplied these dangerous and intolerable actions in this buffer zone, in violation of the military agreements, in defiance of the calls to order issued by the UN Secretary-General and in transgression of the resolutions of the Security Council, in particular 2414 and 2440, which ordered the "Polisario" to "put an end" to these destabilizing acts, notes the ministry, recalling that Morocco had immediately alerted and regularly informed the UN Secretary-General and senior UN officials of these very serious developments. It had also called on the members of the Security Council and Minurso, as well as several neighboring states, to witness.

The Kingdom of Morocco has granted all the necessary time to the good offices of the United Nations Secretary-General and Minurso, in order to get the "Polisario" to stop its destabilizing actions and leave the Guergerate buffer zone, continues the same source. However, the calls from Minurso and the UN Secretary-General, as well as the interventions of several members of the Security Council, have unfortunately remained in vain, deplores Moroccan diplomacy.

Morocco has therefore decided to act, in compliance with its attributions, by virtue of its duties and in full conformity with international legality, declares the ministry, adding that the "Polisario" alone assumes full responsibility and the full consequences.