The conflict opposing Morocco to Algeria and its Polisario proxies “is over,” the United States Institute of Peace said in an analysis, following French support for Morocco’s sovereignty and its autonomy plan for the territory.
The other parties, Algeria and the Polisario, should come to the negotiations table on the basis of the autonomy option which Morocco offered in 2007, Thomas M. Hill, Director of North Africa program at USIP wrote.
He cited the growing momentum in favor of Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory with the spillover effect triggered by the US recognition in 2020, followed by a wave of support from African and Arab states.
The French support for Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara territory was a game changer that speeds up the final resolution of the conflict, the author of the analysis said.
“The de facto control that Morocco now enjoys will become the permanent status,” he said.
“International momentum is entirely on Morocco’s side. In the not-so-distant future, the conflict over the Western Sahara territory will be effectively finished, with only a handful of states continuing to argue for Sahrawi independence,” he added.
“Continuing to deny this reality only ensures a less-favorable final settlement,” he said.
For Algiers, which has blocked negotiations on the autonomy plan, perpetuating the Western Sahara conflict is a means to irritate its rival, Morocco, he noted.