Latest news with #AlexanderIvanko
Ya Biladi
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Polisario militias block MINURSO convoy
Just as in March 2023, armed Polisario militias have once again blocked a MINURSO logistical convoy. «The incident occurred on Monday, April 21, east of the Sand Wall, in the Agounite area near the Mauritanian border, about 900 kilometers from the Tindouf camps. Polisario's armed elements entered the area through Mauritanian territory», a Moroccan source familiar with the matter told Yabiladi. This obstruction comes just a week after the April 14 briefing delivered to the UN Security Council by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara and head of MINURSO. In his report, Alexander Ivanko noted that «the POLISARIO Front does not appear capable of inflicting significant damage on the FAR [Royal Armed Forces], nor of altering the status quo through military means. However, it continues to reject my calls for a cessation of hostilities. On the other hand, the FAR, equipped with considerable military capabilities, have so far shown restraint». These remarks have angered the Polisario, even as its propaganda media continue to announce attacks against FAR positions to residents of the Tindouf camps. It's worth recalling that in March 2023, Polisario militias also blocked MINURSO's access to its team sites east of the Sand Wall. Following pressure from the United States on Algiers, the Polisario eventually allowed the peacekeepers to pass, a decision communicated in a letter to the UN Secretary-General.
Ya Biladi
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
French delegation visits Laayoune ahead of UN Security Council presidency
A delegation from the French embassy in Rabat, comprising diplomats and military personnel, visited Laayoune on Thursday, March 20. At the MINURSO headquarters, the French representatives met with senior UN mission officials to discuss the latest developments on the ground between the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and the Polisario, as well as the challenges MINURSO faces in carrying out its mission. This visit comes as Paris prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in April. The issue of Western Sahara is expected to be on the agenda, with two briefings planned: one by Russian diplomat Alexander Ivanko, the UN Secretary-General's special representative for Western Sahara and head of MINURSO, and another by General Fakhrul Ahsan of Bangladesh, commander of the peacekeeping forces in the region.
Ya Biladi
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Sahara : US military delegation visits Laayoune
A military delegation from the US embassy visited Laayoune this week, described as «part of a routine visit», according to a Moroccan source close to the matter who spoke to Yabiladi. During their time in the city, «the three Americans held talks with the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Western Sahara and head of MINURSO, the Russian Alexander Ivanko, and General Fakhrul Ahsan of Bangladesh, commander of MINURSO's blue helmets». The delegation also conducted an aerial survey, flying by helicopter to the UN mission's Team Sites in the Sahara, located west of the Mur des Sables», the same source added. The timing of the US military visit coincided with Donald Trump's official return to the White House and Marco Rubio's inauguration as head of the State Department. The visits by diplomatic delegations accredited to Morocco aim to update data on developments in the Sahara, especially following the Polisario's withdrawal on November 13, 2020, from the ceasefire signed in 1991 under the aegis of the United Nations. It is noteworthy that a French military mission also visited Laayoune in October 2023.
