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Rabat – Several international publications put a spotlight on Algeria’s frustration after various African countries and others from different continents expressed unwavering support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
A lengthy list of countries have recently either opened a consulate in Morocco’s southern provinces to express their support for the Moroccan cause or renewed their commitment to back Rabat’s position in different international events.
The recent developments angered Algeria, which mobilized its lobbies across Africa to secure support from a shrinking list of countries who still support Polisario’s claims over Western Sahara.
On Thursday, international analysis website African Intelligence published a 657-word article on how Algeria is in a rush to either secure or maintain back up from the few countries that continue to oppose Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Africa Intelligence gave its opinion piece a title that reflects a reality Polisario and Algeria continues to deny: More countries on the continent intend to join an already lengthy list of states that support Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
“As AU’s position on Western Sahara shifts, Minister Boukadoum is sent to rally ‘last’ allies,” African Intelligence titled the opinion piece.
The article spoke about the Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum’s recent visit to several southern African states, including South Africa.
“The Algerian foreign minister Sabri Boukadoum has paid a visit to the few, still pro-Polisario capitals in Africa with the hope of gaining room for manoeuvre on the matter of the dispute.”
For the pan-African analysis paper, Boukadoum “came away disappointed.”
Africa Intelligence said that apart from Pretoria, none of the other states he visited, including Angola and Kenya, would voice support.
Morocco, the African Union, and the Western Sahara dossier
Africa Intelligence recalled Morocco’s return to the African Union, a decision many deem as a strong comeback after nearly 30 years of absence.
Morocco’s government explained the return will serve as a mechanism to overcome the challenges of its previous empty seat policy that played in favor of Polisario and Algeria, who made several attempts within the pan-African organization to challenge Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
African countries supporting Polisario’s claims also limited their opposition attempts against Morocco after the AU adopted Decision 693 in 2018.
The Decision reaffirms the UN as the only authority to resolve the Western Sahara conflict.
In March 2019, the African Ministerial Conference on the African Union’s Role in Supporting the UN-led political process in Western Sahara renewed support for the AU’s decision.
The decision thwarted some African countries’s attempts to mediate the Western Sahara conflict under the auspices of the AU.
Despite the AU’s firm stance supporting the UN-led process, Algeria and South Africa continue to interfere in Moroccan domestic affairs.
Read also: Timeline: Highlights of Morocco’s Western Sahara Gains in 2020
Algeria even held a military exercise with live ammunition near the border with Morocco on January 18, with Algerian officials vowing to keep their army prepared for the “current challenges.”
The Algerian army’s Chief of Staff, Said Chengriha, said that Algeria’s military personnel should also be prepared for the conditions of “instability” in the region, hinting at the fake war against Morocco. Both Algeria and Polisario have claimed a war is underway after the separatist group declared the collapse of the UN ceasefire it established with Morocco in 1991.
The declaration came after Polisario sent militias to Guerguerat, near the Moroccan-Mauritanian border, to carry out illegal protests against UN recommendations.
The Polisario Front also denied the UN’s calls that urged the Front to leave the region. In response, Morocco’s government sent military personnel to lift the blockade Polisario’s militias caused, impacting civil and goods traffic, on November 13.
Many in the international community commended Morocco’s peaceful intervention, but Algeria continued to promote fake news about violations from Morocco against Polisario.
