UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged the head of the Polisario separatists Brahim Ghali to abide by the 1991 ceasefire agreement and withdraw militias from Guerguarat area on the borders with Mauritania in the demilitarized buffer strip. Ross who talked to the press following the meeting said that the emphasis was placed on the need for the Polisario to withdraw its troops from Guerguarat buffer strip in the southernmost tip of the Saharan provinces. He said the UN Secretary General wants to relaunch negotiations between the parties to the Sahara dispute and stressed the need for the Polisario to withdraw armed men from Guerguarat following the example of Morocco. The withdrawal came in response to Guterres call for both parties to leave the demilitarized buffer strip. Polisario armed men set up checkpoints forcing Moroccan drivers to remove Moroccan signs such as Moroccan maps or registration plates and threatening to fire on those who refuse to abide.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 20, 2017 16:52 UTC