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Rabat – Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton– a vocal advocate for Polisario and its separatism claims targeting Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara – recently attempted to downplay Polisario’s terrorist links despite mounting evidence of their extremist activities and security threats undermining not only Morocco’s stability but the whole region.
Bolton, who is also widely seen as a warmonger, claimed that he saw no warning signs in regards to the Polisario Front during his visits to Tindouf.
“I’ve been to Tindouf, I think the first time was about 30 years ago. I saw no signs of Marxists, jihadists, or Iranians, or anything like that,” he claimed, downgrading Polisario’s terror links.
Bolton made his remarks in an interview with Oltralectura published on June 28, in which he dismissed growing concerns over the Polisario terrorist links as nothing more than “Moroccan propaganda.”
Overlooking Morocco’s genuine efforts to find a political solution to end the Western Sahara dispute, Bolton called such accusations “desperate propaganda” and “outrageous,” claiming that there has been no evidence of terrorist attacks led by the separatist group.
The claims came amid an increasing number of international appeals from officials, security experts, and research institutions urging the global community to address the Polisario’s escalating security threat in the Sahel region.
Blood-thirst amid warnings
One such appeal even specifically came from within the halls of the US Congress. On June 27, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson submitted a bipartisan bill, officializing his appeal seeking to classify the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist group.
Wilson labeled Polisario as a “Marxist militia backed by Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia, providing Iran a strategic outpost in Africa and destabilizing the Kingdom of Morocco, a US ally for 248 years.”
Morocco cut ties with Iran in 2018, citing evidence of collusion between the Polisario Front and Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, specifically accusing Tehran of providing the separatist group with military and logistical support.
At that time, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, said that Morocco provided detailed evidence of this collusion.
“The file was carefully prepared, for weeks, on the basis of information collected and cross-checked over several months,” said Bourita, adding that the document summarizes “proven and precise facts: dates of visits by senior officers of Hezbollah in Algeria, dates and venues of meetings with Polisario officials, and a list of names of agents involved in these contacts.”
Turning a blind eye to international appeals
Many think tanks and academic research, and news publications have documented these ties between Iran and Polisario under Algeria’s watch.
In April, a report from the Washington Post highlighted the collaboration between Algiers and Iran-backed Hezbollah, using Polisario as a political tool to undermine Morocco as well as other countries like Syria.
The report quoted sources who confirmed that Hezbollah trained Polisario to propel its interests.
“Over the years, Iran has fostered a wide array of proxy groups to advance its interests,” the report said, quoting a regional official and a third European official who said Iran trained fighters from the “Algeria-based Polisario Front” that are now detained by Syria’s new security forces.
Several reports also exposed Algeria’s propaganda, dismissing Polisario’s self-portrayal as a liberation movement.
In April, a report by the Hudson Institute described the separatist group as a paramilitary organization that functions as a “destabilizing militia.”
It also documented how Polisario’s activities “go far beyond the standard for a terror designation,” a statement echoed by the American Enterprise Institute, urging the UN to cease recognizing the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people.
Fast forward to now, when Bolton’s advocacy for Polisario comes on the heels of a recent terrorist attack in Es-Semara, widely attributed to the Polisario.
On Friday of last week, converging reports said four projectiles landed near the city in southern Morocco. Although no injuries or damages were reported, the Polisario’s staged attack caused widespread chaos and alarm among civilians.
This is not the first time Polisario has carried out terrorist attacks against Morocco. In 2023, also in Es-Semara, the separatist group launched a strike that killed one person and injured three others.
Last year, Polisario also targeted a Green March ceremony in Laayoune.
Threatening tourists, businesses
Further confirming the terrorism accusations, the separatist group militias have made it clear that they have no interest in ceasing their attacks, even threatening tourists and businesses alike.
In May, Members of the Polisario leadership, including Mustapha Sidi Ali El Bachir, conveyed the separatist group’s terrorist threats, noting that foreign investors and tourists visiting southern provinces are “in great danger.”
The Polisario member appeared in a threatening video on May 1 published on YouTube, saying that in line with the group’s statement from November 13, 2020 – which announced the “return to war” – that “any foreign investor or tourist in the Sahara is putting their life at risk.”
“Let the Sahrawi stay away from foreigners and not come telling us they’re civilians or innocent. This is not a tourism context, but a wartime context,” he added.
With all of this mounting evidence, it is increasingly clear that Bolton’s statements contrast with the growing international consensus, from both within the former security advisor’s own country and around the world, that the Polisario Front is posing a regional danger that must be addressed and taken seriously.
