Polisario Threatens to Violate UN Restrictions in Guerguerat Buffer Zone

Rabat – Polisario members are planning to repeat their controversial maneuvers disturbing participants of the Monaco-Dakar Rally again this year.

Polisario again threatens to violate the Guerguerat buffer zone, a thin strip of land on the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara in southern Morocco. The Africa Eco race winds through Guerguerat between Morocco and Mauritania on its way from Monaco in Europe to Dakar, Senegal.

Pro-Polisario news outlet Futurosahara reported that “the Monaco-Dakar Rally organizers ignore the Sahrawi authorities’ warnings for the second year in a row.”

The separatist website also confirmed that Polisario sent two vehicles to the region last year,urging MINURSO to “take necessary measures.”

Read Also: Facts about Western Sahara Conflict that You Should Know

The news outlet added that Sahrawis warned the organizers that they will “hinder the passage of the rally in case of a provocation from the participants through carrying the Moroccan flag or any provocative map.”

To cover up its intentions, Futurosahara reported that a source from the Polisario denied any development in the region.

The participants of the rally are expected to arrive in Mauritania through Guerguerat on January 7.

The threats are not new; Polisario members defied UN resolutions by penetrating the buffer zone in January 2018.

Polisario’s self-styled “civilian police” sent two vehicles to the race hoping to hinder and intercept two participants of the rally challenge coming from Dakhla.

If the pattern continues this year, the UN may take strict measures against Polisario. The Security Council issued a warning in October, calling on Polisario not to change the status quo of the region or hamper the UN-led political process.

Through its Resolution 2440, the Security Council also called on Polisario to refrain from relocating or constructing any facilities in the areas that Polisario has long claimed as “liberated zones.”