Morocco Reclaims 40km of Disputed Western Sahara Territory

On his Facebook page, the Sahrawi activist opposed to the Polisario Front, Saïd Zeroual, reported statements that the representative of the independence movement to the United Nations, Mohamed Amar, would have made during a conference organized by the "Sahrawi Ministry of Foreign Affairs". According to Zeroual, he declared that "it is not possible to end the ceasefire and that Morocco has recovered 40 kilometers of new Sahrawi territories liberated after November 13, 2020". These statements corroborate information about the "demoralization" within the Polisario in the face of the diplomatic and military defeats it is suffering.

On November 13, 2020, Morocco had launched a military operation in the buffer zone of Guerguerat, near Mauritania, denouncing "Polisario provocations" in the Sahara. About 200 truckers had been blocked by the Polisario for three weeks at the Guerguerat border post. The Royal Armed Forces had managed to end the blockade situation and restore free civilian and commercial traffic on the road leading to Mauritania. Since then, strong tensions have persisted in the Sahara.

"The peace process in the Sahara is suffering from total paralysis due to Morocco’s position and the positions of certain influential actors within the Security Council," said the "Polisario representative to the United Nations" during this meeting, referring to France and the United States. According to him, Morocco refuses to progress towards a solution. The Polisario clings to the idea of self-determination. A position reaffirmed by Amar. Except that Morocco, which has been defending since 2007 an autonomy plan for the Sahara under its sovereignty, receives the support of several countries including the United States, Germany, Israel, Spain and recently France.