The King of Morocco pledges to the UN to maintain the ceasefire in the Sahara conflict

The King of Morocco has had a telephone conversation with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, in which he communicated his "constant commitment" to maintain the ceasefire in the Sahara, according to the Royal Palace in a statement released this Monday late in the afternoon. But at the same time and "with the same force", Mohamed VI assured that he was firmly determined to react with "great severity", "and within the framework of legitimate defense", against any threat to security. of your country and the stability of its citizens.

The conversation takes place three days after the Moroccan army entered the demilitarized zone of Guerguerat - in southern Western Sahara, on the border with Mauritania - to expel some fifty civilians who had been blocking the road since October 21.

The Moroccan forces and those of the Polisario Front exchanged fire during the operation, something that had not happened since the signing of the ceasefire in 1991. The following morning, the Sahrawi organization formally declared the ceasefire broken and declared the state of war.

The Polisario Front has issued three "war reports" since Saturday in which it claims to have attacked various military posts of the "enemy" and have caused fatal casualties and great material losses.

However, Moroccan official sources have denied this newspaper having suffered any human loss.

For the moment, observers from the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) have not commented on the matter.

The king told Guterres that, given the failure of all "commendable attempts" by the UN Secretary General to get the Guerguerat highway unblocked, Morocco has made use of its responsibility, within the "most legitimate right", given that it does not It is the first time that, according to the monarch, "the Polisario militias" practice these "unacceptable acts."

Mohamed VI has informed Guterres of something that, probably, the UN secretary already knew through his observers: that the circulation of traffic in the Guerguerat has been restored.

And he added that the military forces will continue to take "the necessary measures" in order to "ensure order and guarantee a fluid circulation of people and goods."

It is therefore unknown how long the Moroccan army will remain in the demilitarized zone.