United Nations, United States, Jan 11, 2019 (AFP) – Morocco has accused Polisario Front fighters in Western Sahara of violating a ceasefire agreement, just weeks before an expected new round of talks on ending the decades-old conflict. He described the movements as “provocations” that could jeopardize UN-brokered talks on ending the Western Sahara conflict, and urged the Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to condemn the Polisario. Last month, Morocco sat down with the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania for the first talks in six years aimed at settling the conflict over Western Sahara, which Rabat claims is an integral part of the kingdom. The Algeria-backed Polisario fought a war with Morocco from 1975 to 1991, when a ceasefire deal was agreed and a UN peace mission deployed to monitor the truce. The Polisario Front is demanding a referendum on independence for the territory, which Morocco has flatly rejected.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 11, 2019 21:33 UTC