Rabat- Polisario’s provocative actions continue in Western Sahara’s buffer zones. Recently, the separatist group announced its intention to relocate its armed militias to the restricted buffer zone of Bir Lahlou.
Separatist sources reported today that the front has expressed its intention to move the headquarters of its “defense ministry” to Bir Lahlou, an area located only 230 kilometers away from the Es-Semara province.
The sources claimed that the process of relocating the separatists’ headquarters to Bir Lahlou “has started and will be completed within a short period.” The news was widely reported by Moroccan press yesterday.
Last week, Moroccan newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum reported that the Polisario is planning a series of provocative maneuvers in Bir Lahlou and Tifraity, two buffer zones located in northeastern Western Sahara. However, Moroccan political observers, including Moussaoui El Ajlaoui, considered Polisario’s potential actions as an attention grab that uses Algerian media to publicize its ploy.
Polisario have been carrying out several provocative actions in the Western Sahara, especially in the Guerguerat buffer strip, resulting in denunciation from both the Moroccan government and the United Nations.
Polisario’s recent plan will also hinder the settlement process regarding the conflict over the Western Sahara, which has been ongoing for four decades.
El Ajlaoui told the Moroccan newspaper that Polisario’s fictional maneuvers have mounted for media purposes without any impact on the ground, adding that the separatists seek to draw the attention of the international public opinion and the United Nations.
Morocco and the United Nations have not yet responded to the alleged intentions of the Polisario Front. However, both parties have made their stance clear over the maneuvers. In January, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern over rising tensions near the Guerguerat buffer zone.
Polisario had been violating the ceasefire agreement signed between Morocco and Polisario in 1991. The separatists’ provocative actions have been ongoing since December 2017.
