Morocco King Presses for Peacekeeper Pullout From Western Sahara
(Bloomberg) — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered authorities to help speed the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from the disputed Western Sahara after a diplomatic standoff between the US and Russia meant the 35-year-old mission wasn’t renewed.
The monarch told the interior ministry to take “charge of the tasks of coordinating and supporting the liquidation and withdrawal of the mission” known as MINURSO, according to a statement Wednesday.
A swathe of Atlantic coastline and desert larger than the UK, Western Sahara is mostly controlled by Morocco, which marched in after Spanish colonial forces withdrew in 1975. That’s fiercely disputed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, backed by neighboring Algeria.
The UN, which calls the area a non-self-governing territory, established its mission in 1991 after fighting that left at least 9,000 people dead.
Its renewal stalled at the Security Council last week when the US proposed a dramatic restructuring that closely mirrored ally Morocco’s plans for the territory, only for the resolution to be vetoed by Russia. Washington in turn rejected a suggestion for a one-year extension from Moscow, which has good ties with Algeria.
The US recognized Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term, and Spain, France and the UK later took similar steps. The new standoff has raised fears of a return to full-on fighting between Morocco and Polisario.
The king’s instructions “ensure the continuation of the development project for the Southern provinces,” the foreign ministry said Wednesday, using Morocco’s term for the territory.
It stressed Morocco’s “firm commitment to the ceasefire,” saying that wouldn’t change with the UN mission’s end.
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