Brahim Ghali, head of the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara territory, said renewed fighting with Morocco in the decades-long dispute with the Sahrawi people is likely to affect the entire region should it continue. “There is already war on the ground and to avoid its dire consequences for the…
A 30-year ceasefire in the Western Sahara has been brought to a crashing collapse, as rebel independence fighters the Polisario Front reportedly launched attacks on Moroccan forces over the weekend of November 14 and claim to have caused “human and material damages” since then. The Front, which claims to represent…
An investigation into the treatment of Sahrawi activists in Western Sahara, including an incident reportedly captured on video last year, has renewed attention to territorial and self-determination claims that have spanned decades in a North African region Morocco claims as its own. “The video shows more than a dozen policemen…
Lawmakers in Spain have approved a motion that supports a “firm position in defense of the integrity of the land and maritime territory” of the Canary Islands, as Morocco moves to redefine its territorial waters in a way that creates overlap with Spain’s maritime border there. This week’s decision is…
South Africa’s foreign minister will deliver the eulogy on Monday during a memorial service for Radhi-Sghaiar Bachir, the ambassador for Western Sahara in Pretoria. Dr. Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, said she was shocked and saddened to learn of Bachir’s death following a short illness while in…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement is moving forward, with the addition of ratifications from two more members to reach the minimum threshold. Sierra Leone and the Saharawi Republic helped the AU to reach the necessary 22 nations required for the AfCFTA to enter into force. That will…
South Africa’s deputy foreign minister met with the prime minister of Western Sahara on Sunday as part of a four-day visit to the long-disputed government seeking independence from Morocco. The visit by Llewellyn Landers aims to deepen diplomatic relations between South Africa and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), according to…
Horst Kohler, the United Nations Special Envoy on Western Sahara, has invited the Polisario Front to a first round of talks with Morocco in December in Geneva, according to Sahara Press Service. The official media outlet aligned with Western Sahara independence said the Polisario Front received its invitation on Friday…
South Africa is the next stop for President Brahim Ghali, leader of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), as he continues a tour of southern African nations ahead of an upcoming African Union summit. Ghali arrived in Johannesburg on Saturday, where he was met by the Sahrawi Ambassador to South…
A Sahrawi spokesman said Monday that Western Sahara leaders welcomed the United Nations Security Council decision to extend the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for another six months. Mohammed Khadad said the decision reflects a turning point in the UN approach to the Sahrawi issue, in comments reported by…
West African heads of state begin their meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Saturday, with a range of issues on the agenda for the summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). What won’t be on the agenda as planned is a discussion of Morocco’s accession to the body,…
A Moroccan court on Wednesday sentenced 23 Sahrawi activists, a third of them to life terms, in a closely-watched trial that dates back to 2010 clashes in Gdim Izik in the disputed Western Sahara. Observers said the Court of Appeals at Salé handed down eight life sentences, another 11 in…
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted late Friday to extend the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) through April 30, 2018. The extension was unanimously adopted by the 15-member council. The decision on the mandate extension was welcomed in a statement issued by Stéphane Dujarric, the…
Human rights organization Amnesty International has called on the United Nations to add human rights monitoring to the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). “The UN mission in Western Sahara is the world’s only modern peacekeeping operation without a human rights component,” said Heba…
Morocco announced it will withdrawal forces from the Guerguerat region of Western Sahara, a move expected to reduce tensions between the government and armed elements of the Polisario Front maintaining their decades-long call for an independent state. Reuters reports the decision came just days after a phone call between King…