The UN Security Council adopted a resolution April 9 on the Western Sahara peace process between the Polisario Front and Morocco. Also, the threat that the coronavirus will spread more widely in North Africa did little to bring Morocco and Polisario’s ally Algeria any closer when it comes to the disputed Western Sahara. It could even be said that tensions over Western Sahara didn’t diminish an inch, and that if anything, the coronavirus pandemic only escalated them. The conflict over Western Sahara has lasted for many decades, ever since Spain decolonized this large stretch of desert land in 1975. Algeria recalled its ambassador from Ivory Coast after the West African country opened a consulate in the Western Sahara region, but the diplomatic pressure yielded no results.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 12, 2020 20:26 UTC