Polisario Front unsettled by UN visit to Tindouf camps
As tensions persist between the Algerian-backed Polisario Front and Morocco, the separatist group has been visited by a UN delegation at the Tindouf camps in Algeria, according to the pro-Moroccan Yabiladi and agencies on April 5th.
The delegation is tasked with evaluating the work of MINURSO (the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) in line with Resolution 2797, or the Moroccan Autonomy Plan.
Polisario representatives have rejected MINURSO’s mandate and accused the UN mission of being biased in favour of Moroccan interests.
A source close to the situation stated that the “UN mission engaged with members of the Polisario, yet no agreement was reached.”
Resolution 2797 would grant the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.
The plan received widespread support at the UN Security Council vote in October 2025, with many viewing it as a solution to the long-standing territorial dispute, which has persisted since Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.
Algeria has rejected the plan and backs the Polisario Front, which claims to engage in armed struggle against the “Moroccan occupier” on behalf of the Sahrawi people, who are indigenous to the Western Sahara.
Concerns have been raised about human rights abuses in the Tindouf camps, where the recruitment of child soldiers and extrajudicial killings have occurred.
Morocco joined an EU aid monitoring mechanism in January, citing concerns about the Tindouf camps becoming an extremist hub because of the influence of separatist and militant groups.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militia, has allegedly visited the camps; Hezbollah and the Polisario Front both receive Iranian funding.
Algeria’s seemingly unwavering support for the Polisario Front and its rejection of Resolution 2797 have led to its growing diplomatic isolation.
In February, a US bill to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organisation received bipartisan support in the US Congress.
Legislation was originally introduced in June 2025 to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), with the US-Morocco alliance central to the push.
In January, a Polisario delegation failed to make a self-determination deal with the US, despite negotiations being backed by the Algerian Embassy in Washington; the US negotiator rejected any proposal that did not align with Resolution 2797.
Washington has repeatedly signalled its intention to prioritise political stability and economic investment in North Africa, including the establishment of a US consulate in Morocco.
Yabiladi and agencies, Maghrebi.org
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