Algeria obstructing Moroccan autonomy plans for Western Sahara
The pro-Morocco outlet The North Africa Post published a report on August 25th, accusing Algeria of obstructing efforts to advance Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara.
The disputed territory has been at the centre of a decades-long conflict between Morocco, which controls most of Western Sahara and is offering it autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, and the Polisario Front, which seeks full independence. Algeria supports Polisario and argues the issue should be resolved through an independence referendum in line with the right to self-determination, UN resolutions and respect for colonial-era borders.
According to the outlet, Algeria continues to resist Morocco’s autonomy plan despite what it describes as “growing international support” for the proposal, including from the US, France and the UK. The outlet claimed that only US-led diplomacy could break the stalemate.
The report came as UN Secretary General António Guterres presented his latest assessment of Western Sahara to the General Assembly. His report noted a lack of political progress, risks of escalation and worsening humanitarian conditions in the Tindouf refugee camps, where thousands of Sahrawis live after fleeing the territory. Guterres urged the parties to find a rapid political solution.
The outlet said that closed-door negotiations were taking place between Washington and Algiers, citing discussions by US presidential adviser Massad Boulous during a recent visit to Algeria. It also reported that a US delegation visited Laayoune in southern Morocco to meet UN mission MINURSO officials ahead of an October Security Council meeting.
MINURSO has monitored the ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991 but has not advanced the planned referendum on self-determination. The outlet argued that the mission could be replaced by another body tasked with promoting Morocco’s autonomy plan.
The outlet cites Algerian and Polisario “procrastination” and the promise of self-determination being used for political leverage as reasons for stalled progress, with an ongoing conflict destabilising what the report claims is Moroccan territory and regional stability.
The North Africa Post, Maghrebi
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