Rabat – Several speakers at the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly have warned about the growing ties between the armed separatist group Polisario and terrorist organizations active in the Sahel region, saying these connections pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability.
Julia Paci, a member of the NGO Il Cenacolo, recalled that a bill was recently introduced in the US House of Representatives calling for the designation of the Polisario as a foreign terrorist organization.
She said the bipartisan initiative shows that “the threat posed by this separatist group is no longer a matter of political debate, but a pressing security concern.” Paci described the Polisario as “a destabilizing actor that serves those who profit from regional chaos.”
She also mentioned the case of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, a former member of the Polisario who went on to found the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and later became a leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. According to her, al-Sahrawi’s case is “only the tip of the iceberg,” as many Polisario members have joined terrorist groups across the Sahel.
Rwandan geopolitical expert Ismael Buchanan also warned that the separatist group maintains “close links” with terrorist networks in the region. He said that peace and security in Africa “cannot be achieved unless the Polisario is recognized as a terrorist organization,” adding that the group represents a “serious threat to stability across the continent.”
Mohammed Ziad Al-Jaabari, president of the Moroccan-Palestinian Friendship Association, denounced the “collusion” between separatist movements, terrorist groups, and organized crime networks in the Sahel. He explained that these groups work together, as terrorists rely on the funds and weapons supplied by criminal networks, while separatists take advantage of weak borders to carry out their destructive plans.
Al-Jaabari warned that the Tindouf camps in southwest Algeria, controlled by the Polisario, have become a main route for smuggling operations that benefit both terrorists and criminals. He also raised concerns about the radicalization of young people in these camps, fueled by poor living conditions and lack of opportunities.
Similarly, international law expert Mahmoud Rahman Anwar stressed that separatist movements working with terrorist and criminal networks undermine peace, sovereignty, and human rights in Africa. He said the Polisario’s involvement in extremist and trafficking activities worsens insecurity and obstructs joint African and international efforts to fight terrorism.
Finally, Souleymane Satyghi Sidibe, head of the Sahel Institute for Research and Conflict Transformation, pointed to Algeria’s role in supporting these networks. He said that “these connections between separatists and terrorists are made possible, and even encouraged, by Algeria’s interference and ambitions for regional dominance.”
MWN with MAP
