Western Sahara Tension Escalates as Polisario Front Threatens Armed Conflict with Morocco

On Saturday, the Security Council extended the mandate of the MINURSO mission in the Moroccan Sahara for one year. The resolution also includes the full support of the Security Council for the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his next personal envoy to maintain the new momentum of the political process aimed at resolving the Moroccan Sahara issue. Angry, the Polisario threatens to resume arms, which constitutes a violation of the 1991 ceasefire agreement.

For its part, Algeria, a historical ally of the Polisario, finds itself in a bad position. At the end of the virtual meeting, Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, stated that the Security Council called "Algeria to assume a role commensurate with its political, diplomatic, military and humanitarian involvement in this regional dispute".