Manuel Valls, former French Prime Minister, confirmed that “Polisario” separatists are involved in arms smuggling, human and drug trafficking; therefore, it gives rise to a real threat to security in Sahel region.

Valls, who was a program’s guest on the Spanish television channel (Antena 3), Friday, November 20^th, 2020, regarded positions of (Podemos) party, which is a minority party in the Spanish coalition government in relation to the Moroccan Sahara and the separatists, as “irresponsible positions.” Emphasizing that “Polisario is involved in arms smuggling, human and drug trafficking in the Sahel region”

He warned that “we should not sing out of swarm,” calling on the Spanish government to “take responsibility and be up to challenges facing Spain and Europe.”

On the other hand, he stressed that Morocco “is an important ally of Europe.”

“Morocco is an essential ally in the war against terrorism, which are great challenges to Europe” he said.

On a final note, Valls asserted “we have thousands of extremist people in our country. As a result, we need to co-operate with African countries, especially Morocco.”

The post Manuel Valls: Polisario strongly Involved in Arms Smuggling, Human and Drug Trafficking appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

In his live interview with CNN today November 20th, Omar Hilale, Morocco’s UN ambassador affirmed that he still stands by his latest statement in which he considered the Sahara’s referendum “well dead and buried for more than two decades.”

It should be recalled that Sidi Omar, Polisario’s representative to the UN joined CNN earlier this week and accused Morocco of being an “occupying force”. The separatist also claimed that Morocco “has fatally undermined the 1991 Ceasefire” by taking military actions in Guerguerat, and therefore considering the country’s commitment to ceasefire a “bluff”.

As a response to the allegations, Hilale reminded us all of what happened on October 21st when Polisario used women and children to block the crossing border of Guerguerat. He also explained that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council were alerted immediately and consequently demanded Polisario’s withdrawal from the area. Following Polisario’s refusal to comply, Morocco had no other option but to respond, under the eyes of UN members, with a completely civil operation which led the Polisario to finally flee the area.

Hilale also stated that “Polisario is resorting to propaganda while Morocco is sticking to facts” and pointed out that His Majesty the King Mohammed VI spoke to the UN Secretary General and reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to the Ceasefire Agreement as well as the whole political process.

Moreover, Morocco’s UN ambassador said that the only political solution that Morocco is suggesting to maintain peace in the area is a “large autonomy under the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Morocco”, a solution which has been considered “credible” by the UN Security Council.

On a final note, Omar Hilale added that “we are not going to war, but we are ready to defend civilians, to defend our territory and our territorial integrity”, emphasizing the international community’s support regarding Morocco’s recent actions in Guerguerat.

The post Omar Hilale: Sahara referendum is “well dead and buried” appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

Following recent developments in the buffer zone of El Guergarat, the Liberal International Bureau commended Morocco’s autonomy initiative, while condemning “Polisario’s” calls for violence and its “choice to risk conflict” with the Kingdom.

In a statement issued November 17th, the federation condemned Polisario’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, considering it a “flagrant violation of international law and an act of banditry in the border area.”

“Paralyzing civilian and commercial traffic across the Moroccan-Mauritanian border undermines economic development and weakens efforts to improve human rights standards,” the organization continued, while calling for “respect for UN Resolution 2414, adopted in 2018, in which the UN urged the separatists to immediately withdraw from the buffer zone of El Guergarat.

On another note, the vice-president of Liberal International, Hans Van Baalen, stated that “the Polisario must respect the ceasefire agreement”, adding that “we must support Moroccan peace initiatives as they are vital for restoring peace in the whole region, including Europe”.

The post Liberal International Commends Morocco’s Autonomy Initiative and Condemns “Polisario” Calls for Violence in the Region appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

Morocco Prime Minister, Saad Eddine El Othmani, revealed a short while ago, through a Facebook post, that a meeting will be held with leaders of political parties to inform them of the latest developments in Guerguerat.

In his post, El Othmani wrote: “I will soon hold a meeting with the leaders of national political parties to put them in the picture of the operation carried out by the Royal Armed Forces in the Guerguerat region.”

The Royal Armed Forces had announced the establishment of a security belt to ensure the flow of goods and people through Guergarat border crossing. This follows a series of “Polisario” provocations which, assisted by its militias, closed the crossing, and paralyzed civilian and commercial traffic, in addition to harassing Moroccan soldiers and other members of the MINURSO stationed in the region.

The post Guergarat Follow-Up: El Othmani Holds urgent meeting with political parties’ leaders appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

Morocco announced today, Friday, that it is going to launch a military operation in the buffer zone in Guerguerat in the Moroccan Sahara.

The aim of this operation is to “re-establish freedom of civil and commercial movement” in the region, condemning the “provocations” of the Polisario Front.

An official statement said this operation comes after Polisario separatists blocked since October 21,  the Guerguerat border crossing through which trucks transfering goods pass to Mauritania and the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The post Morocco launches military operation in Guerguerat border crossing appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

The Assistant Commander of the Mauritanian Army, General Mukhtar Bella Shaaban, arrived Yesterday, Monday, to the northwestern city of Nouadhibou, where the Guerguerat border crossing is located.

The independent Mauritanian News Agency confirmed that the aim of the visit is to study possible measures to “secure” the borders closed by the fictitious Polisario Front gangs for a period of three weeks.

This step broke Mauritania’s long silence concerning Polisario separatists’ disruptive behaviors in the region. This blatant breach led to the closure of Guerguerat border crossing in a way that paralyzed the movement of commercial exchanges between Morocco and Mauritania, limiting the supply of the Mauritanian market with Moroccan agricultural products.

After a long silence over the provocations of the Polisario separatists, King Mohammed VI affirmed, in his forty-fifth Green March anniversary speech, the kingdom’s rejection of the unacceptable practices of trying to obstruct the normal traffic between Morocco and Mauritania, or to change the legal and historical situation east of the security wall, or any other exploitation. In addition, the king  asserted Morocco’s readiness “to confront with all force and firmness the violations that try to harm the safety and stability of the southern provinces.”

The post Mauritanian military moves towards the Guerguerat crossing to secure the borders appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

It is almost certain that the UAE decision to open a general consulate in the city of Laayoune is just the beginning as several Arab countries are preparing to open new consulates. This move will certainly form more pressure on the separatists as well as the Algerian military regime which embraces them.

A diplomatic source told Morocco Telegram that many Gulf countries are preparing to open consulates in the Moroccan Sahara, a decision many Arab countries will also take in the upcoming months.

while the Algerian military regime is still an exception, the Moroccan position towards the Sahara issue enjoys wide support from the leading Arab countries, Gulf states chiefly. In a constant quest to undermine the unity of the Arab peoples, the Algerian army, which continue to firmly hold the reins of power in the country, chooses to keep supporting Polisario separatists with weapons and supervise the detention of thousands of Moroccans in Tindouf, encouraging the public media outlets to trumpet their anti-Moroccan propaganda.

The post New Arab countries on their way to open consulates in Laayoune appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

A helicopter belonging to the United Nations “MINURSO” documented the details of the Polisario gangs’ attacks against truck drivers heading to Mauritania.

The attacks caused the destruction of tons of fruits and vegetables, in a blatant breach of the international organization’s decisions that called on the separatists to withdraw from Guerguerat.

An informed source told Morocco Telegram that the Polisario bandits have attempted to prevent the passage of trucks through Guerguerat. They also sought to blackmail the drivers, under the gaze of the “MINURSO” helicopters, which documented their attacks with videos and photographs.

The post A Minurso helicopter documents the violence against truck drivers and the destruction of tons of vegetables and fruits appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.