UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has confirmed, in his report to the Security Council on the situation in the Sahara, the presence of armed Polisario elements in Guerguarat in October and November 2020, exposing thus the Polisario-Algeria lies and attempts to mislead the international community.
Mr. Guterres informed the Council that “reconnaissance operations carried out by helicopter by MINURSO since October 22 over Guerguarat spotted in the buffer strip 12 armed Polisario members wearing military uniforms. The Minurso observers also confirmed the presence of “8 military vehicles, two of which were equipped with heavy weapons,” said the SG in his report, which covers the period from 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021.
The Polisario has tried to justify the deployment of armed elements in Guerguarat by the so-called “protection of civilian demonstrators” present in the buffer zone. The confirmation of the presence of the Polisario armed elements, among a group of 50 people, including children and women, shows that the separatist group was using them as human shields to block the Guerguarat crossing point.
The Polisario violations and provocative actions, which Morocco has consistently denounced, lasted for three weeks during which the so-called “demonstrators” and armed elements of the mercenaries obstructed all traffic between Morocco and Mauritania, as confirmed in the report of the Secretary-General, saying that even the MINURSO observers were denied access.
The Polisario was informed by MINURSO that its presence in Guerguarat is a ” violation of Military Agreement No. 1” and was “urged to withdraw its military personnel and vehicles from the buffer strip, said the UNSG report.
The military presence of the Polisario in Guerguarat, last year, enhanced the standing of Morocco which called on the UN Chief, through the letter addressed to him by King Mohammed VI, on Nov.12, 2020, to “redouble efforts to put an end quickly and permanently to the intolerable and destabilizing provocative actions of the polisario.
In this letter, the King said the “Kingdom of Morocco, by virtue of its responsibilities and in full respect of international legality, will act in the manner it deems necessary, in order to safeguard the status of the area and restore free movement” in Guerguarat, recalled the report.
Following the obstruction by the armed separatist militias of the Polisario for more than three weeks of the Guerguarat border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania, in October 2020, Morocco undertook, on November 13, 2020, a civil engineering action through which it restored, once and for all, the free movement of people and goods in this passageway.
The peaceful intervention of the Royal Armed Forces was highlighted by the report of the UN Secretary General, stressing “that no casualties were reported to the MINURSO during the events of Nov.13, 2020. This flatly belies the accusations of the Polisario, whose armed elements fled the GuerguArat buffer zone following the intervention of the Royal armed forces.
Furthermore, the UN Secretary General has denied the so-called “war situation” trumpeted by the Polisario propaganda, saying this armed group is conducting hostile actions of “low intensity” near Mahbas” and which have even drastically decreased since January 2021.
The Secretary General finally said the Royal armed forces respond systematically to provocations and harassment actions of the Polisario on the ground.
He cited in this regard, the royal speech made November 7, 2020, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Green March, in which the Sovereign said that Morocco will respond, with utmost firmness and determination, to any action or attempt to undermine the security and stability of its southern provinces.
The UN Secretary General also shed light on the development push in the territory where Morocco launched express road and plans to build one of West Africa’s largest ports in Dakhla.
He recalled the increasing number of countries that opened consulates in the Sahara and highlighted the US decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory.