
AU : Morocco moves to label Polisario as terrorist group
Morocco received a boost during the 38th Ordinary Summit of the African Union, recently held in Addis Ababa. While Rabat ceded the position of first vice-president of the African Commission to Algiers, it made significant progress toward getting the Polisario listed among the continent's terrorist organizations—or at least securing its condemnation for human rights violations. The current international context could further support this objective.
Indeed, in its final declaration, consulted by Yabiladi, the summit «requested the Department of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security to compile a comprehensive list of leaders of armed and terrorist groups in Africa responsible for crimes against refugees and internally displaced persons, and to prosecute those who commit, encourage, finance, or facilitate such crimes». No participant expressed opposition or reservations on this matter.
The implementation of this resolution could encourage refugees to testify about the abuses suffered in the prisons of armed groups. In the case of the Polisario, it is not only Sahrawis and Royal Armed Forces (FAR) soldiers who have endured violations, but also Mauritanians —whose cases have largely been overlooked by human rights organizations.
AU Calls for Refugee Census
The summit also urged member states to «strengthen the protection of refugee camps and internally displaced persons, and to take additional measures to shield them from exploitation by armed and terrorist groups». Additionally, it called on the AU Commission to develop systems for collecting, analyzing, and managing data on refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons to improve decision-making and ensure effective humanitarian action.
Algeria has long refused UN requests to conduct a census of the population in the Tindouf camps. The latest request was included in UN Security Council Resolution 2756 on Western Sahara, adopted on October 31, 2024. Algeria, however, has consistently pushed back, arguing in September 2022 at the UN General Assembly that «a census only makes sense if it is part of a fair and free referendum allowing the people of Western Sahara to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination».
By securing the African Union's support for its longstanding demand for a census in Tindouf, Morocco has achieved progress within the continental organization, complementing its gains in UN bodies.
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Morocco World
6 hours ago
- Morocco World
New US Report Sheds Light on Polisario's Regional Threats, Growing Support for Morocco
Rabat – Amid a growing support for Morocco's position on Western Sahara, several reports have surfaced to shed light on the dispute, particularly Polisario's links to terrorism, a situation that undermines the whole region and beyond. The National Interest is among the magazines, research publications, and news outlets that tackled the regional instability the Polisario is instigating as it aligns itself with terrorist groups as well as US adversaries, including Iran. Growing momentum for Morocco Recalling the international chorus in support of Morocco's territorial integrity, the National Interest published a comprehensive analysis authored by Ahmed Sahrawi on Monday, stressing that more and more countries are agreeing with the Moroccan security approach to safeguard its southern provinces in Western Sahara and preventing the region from becoming home to a 'jihadist government.' 'The United Kingdom recently recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, joining the United States, France, and Israel,' the same source said. On June 1, the UK joined the international chorus for the first time, announcing Morocco's Autonomy Plan as the most serious and credible political solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara. With this decision, the country has been added to a list of over 113 countries that share the same perspective and that seek an end to the stagnant issue. Kenya and Ghana recently shared a similar stance amid Algeria's maneuvers to challenge Morocco's territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces. Algeria's regime harbors the Polisario Front in a deserted area, where freedom of speech and movement are restricted. About 90,000 Sahrawis have been stranded in the region, with many seeking escape but unable to leave due to restricted movement, turning Tindouf into an open-air prison for many. Algeria is still barring a census for the region, due to the presumed fact, as many Sahrawis suggest, that most of the Tindouf residents are Algerians or from other countries and regions like Tuaregs and nationals of neighboring countries, such as Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad. Former Polisario members, including Mustafa Salma, suggest that as little as 20% of the real Sahrawis were forced to take shelter in the camps. 'The Polisario has, in recent years, aligned itself with some of the most radical actors in the region,' the National Interest wrote, recalling how the region became a breeding ground for 'jihadist recruitment and a nexus for extremist networks operating across the Sahel.' The publication further stressed the well-documented ties between the separatist group and terrorist groups, recalling Adnan Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi, a former Polisario member who also led the Islamic State in the Greater Sahel before he was killed by French forces in Mali in 2021. The same source also recalled Polisario's breaking of the UN Ceasefire in 2020, when Morocco peacefully intervened to halt Polisario's blockade in Guerguerat near the Mauritanian border, affecting trade relations. The analyst further detailed the multiple threats and attacks the Polisario Front has been carrying out, targeting Moroccan civilians as well as foreign businesses operating in southern provinces since 2021. In May, members of the Polisario Front, including Mustapha Sidi Ali El Bachir, sent their threats to Moroccans, foreign businesses, as well as tourists visiting southern provinces. The Polisario member appeared in a video on May 1, noting that the separatist group is reiterating and confirming that 'in line with Polisario's statement from November 13, 2020, announcing the return to war, any foreign investor or tourist in the Sahara is putting their life at risk.' 'Let the Sahrawi stay away from foreigners and not come telling us they're civilians or innocent. This is not a tourism context, but a wartime context,' he said. Increasing awareness of Polisario's fake activism The National Interest is not the first US-based website to highlight Polisario's threats to the region. In May, The Daily Signal issued a similar comprehensive piece, in which it recalled that high-ranking officials, like Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, have sought to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist group due to its malicious activities targeting the region's stability. The outlet also criticized the US administration for ignoring Polisario's threats. Notably, the report also mentioned Polisario's armed threats and its unilateral decision to withdraw from the UN-brokered ceasefire in 2020. Like the National interest, the Daily Signal also referenced Iran's support for the Polisario Front through its proxy Hezbollah, which Morocco accused of training and arming the Polisario Front through a collusion with Algeria. 'Polisario's threats rest on a foundation of Algerian sanctuary plus three mutually reinforcing pillars: Iranian military assistance, a growing Russian influence network, and a mature trans-Sahel illicit economy that overlaps with jihadist financing streams,' the Daily Signal wrote. In April, the Washington Post quoted sources who confirmed that Hezbollah trained Polisario to serve and advance its regional interests. 'Over the years, Iran has fostered a wide array of proxy groups to advance its interests,' the report said, quoting a regional official and a third European official who said Iran trained fighters from the 'Algeria-based Polisario Front' that are now detained by Syria's new security forces. In the same month, a report published by the Hudson Institute dismissed Polisario's self-portrayal as a liberation movement, describing the separatist group as a paramilitary organization that functions as 'a destabilizing militia.' Notably, the report, authored by Zineb Riboua, documented how the Polisario's activities 'go far beyond the standard for a terror designation.' Also in the same month, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) scholar Michael Rubin published a piece , urging the UN to cease recognizing the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, in which he described the group as 'a vestige of the Cold War.' Rubin challenged the international community's stance on Polisario's legitimacy, asserting that 'no one has ever elected them to such a position and no one has given the Sahrawi any say.' Tags: Algeria and the Western SaharaPolisario and Algeria


Morocco World
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UNHCR Warns of Humanitarian Crisis in Eastern Chad
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Ya Biladi
10 hours ago
- Ya Biladi
Mauritanian army uncovers hidden Polisario missile stockpile aimed at Morocco
A Mauritanian army patrol has uncovered a significant stockpile of missiles that the Polisario had hidden on Mauritanian soil, reportedly intended for attacks on targets in Morocco. «There are about fifty Grad-type missiles, with a range of 25 to 40 km. These projectiles were used by Polisario armed militias in October and November 2023 against civilian targets in Es-Smara», a source close to the matter told Yabiladi. The Polisario's «commander of the 3rd military region» attempted to retrieve the missiles but was unsuccessful. The Mauritanian army rejected his request, just as President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani had refused, days earlier, the Polisario's appeals to reopen the Lebriga region. It is worth recalling that this same commander was part of the delegation sent to Nouakchott to persuade President El Ghazouani to lift the closure of the Lebriga region, a route the Polisario uses clandestinely to launch attacks on Moroccan positions east of the Sand Wall.