Several Polisario militiamen were reportedly killed near Morocco’s southern border by a strike by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR).
Did Morocco carry out its threat? Responding to questions from deputies about the Smara attacks claimed by the Polisario last November, the head of Moroccan diplomacy Nasser Bourita recalled that Morocco had “firmly condemned” this act and complained about it to the United Nations. He also said that the kingdom “will determine when and how it will respond to the terrorist attacks against the city of Smara”, assuring that it is “not in the escalation” and will act “with wisdom and determination”. Following a meeting between the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General to Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, Bourita deplored the absence of a serious process. “There is no serious process, while the violation of the ceasefire by the Polisario militias continues daily,” denounced the minister.
On Friday, a Moroccan drone reportedly targeted a gathering of suspicious vehicles near the buffer zone, about 3 kilometers from the Moroccan-Mauritanian border. According to pages affiliated with the Polisario, the military operation led to the death of several people and the destruction of a convoy of vehicles trying to enter the buffer zones. The people killed are believed to be militiamen from the independence movement. Moroccan authorities have not yet confirmed the attack.
