Morocco has reportedly informed Algeria that the country is ready to intervene militarily if the Polisario Front continues to refuse the United Nations and Morocco’s call to withdraw from east of the Moroccan defense berm.
The Middle East Eye reported on Friday that Morocco conveyed the message through an unidentified European ambassador to Algeria.
“Morocco has informed Algiers by diplomatic channel that it will intervene militarily in Western Sahara if the Saharawi forces do not withdraw from the buffer zone,” located east of the Moroccan defense wall.
Morocco, however, has been clear about Algeria’s responsibility in the Western Sahara conflict. In a written message addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, King Mohammed VI stated that “Algeria bears a full” responsibility in the conflict.
“It is Algeria that hosts, arms, backs up, and brings diplomatic support for the Polisario.”
Morocco has been urging Algeria to shoulder full responsibility in Western Sahara, including in the unbearable situation in the Tindouf camps, over the past year. The North African country has also been pushing its eastern neighbor to contribute to finding a solution to end the political conflict that has been ongoing for more than 40 years.
In a statement published by Agence France Press (AFP) on Friday, a source at the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Algeria’s support of the Sahrawi people and its legitimate representative, the Polisario Front, does not mean that it should be involved in negotiations” between Morocco and the separatist group.
Recently, regional tensions escalated due to Polisario’s repeated provocative military movements east of Morocco’s defense wall. In response to the illegal Polisario actions, Morocco requested immediate intervention from United Nations and Security Council.
Morocco’s Ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, sent a clear message to the Security Council on April 1, emphasizing that Polisario’s actions in the region is a “casus belli,” or justification for war.
