The leader of the separatist group Polisario in northwest Africa on Saturday ended the truce with Morocco after 29 years. The group wants to establish an independent state in Western Sahara, an area that has been annexed to Morocco since 1975. Polisario now wants to revive an armed conflict that has been silent for years.
Polisario fighters have already carried out multiple attacks on Moroccan positions, the separatist movement says. Morocco has not yet confirmed this. The North African country says it wants to keep to the armistice, but that they had fired warning shots at Polisario supporters.
Polisario’s leader, Ibraham Ghali, argues that Morocco is to blame for the end of the ceasefire. Moroccan troops entered an area where Polisario is located on Friday to clear a road there that had been blocked by supporters of the group. The separatists saw this as a declaration of war.
With the end of the ceasefire, a battle that has been halted for years threatens to break loose again, which could also increase tensions between Morocco and neighboring Algeria. Polisario is currently living in Algeria and at the beginning of the battle this country also supported Polisario.
Polisario has been fighting for independent Western Sahara since 1973
Polisario wants independence for Western Sahara, an area in North Africa. From 1884 to 1975 the area was in Spanish possession, but after Spain moved away it was divided between Morocco and its southern neighbor Mauritania. When Mauritania ran into national economic trouble, the country renounced Western Sahara and Morocco was able to claim the entire territory.
The separatist group, made up of the indigenous population of Western Sahara, had been fighting Spain since 1973 when the country still owned the area. After Spain’s departure, the movement tried in vain to claim the region. After Morocco took over the area, Polisario started a guerrilla war against the North African country.
In 1991 the United Nations intervened and a ceasefire was signed.
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