The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) President and Polisario Front Secretary, Brahim Ghali, called on the African Union (AU) to apply sanctions to Morocco for its occupation of Western Sahara and to adopt greater forcefulness to stop its expansionist practices.
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"The African Peace and Security Council must decisively take a firm stance in the face of aggression against the Saharawi people," Ghali said during the 14th Extraordinary Session of the AU Conference of Heads of State and Government.
The Polisario Front leader insisted that Moroccan troops unleashed the war when they entered the Guerguerat demilitarized zone three weeks ago, a bellicose act that violates the 1991 ceasefire agreement.
"Silencing the weapons requires a serious commitment and firm effort on the part of the continent to restore peace in the region," Ghali stressed.
The Conference concluded on Monday with the unanimous approval of a draft resolution on the latest events in the Sahara after the Moroccan occupation. This resolution puts the Western Sahara conflict back on the agenda of the AU Peace and Security Council.
On Nov. 14, the Moroccan government tried to reopen a highway controlled by the Polisario Front at the Guerfuerat, an area between the Moroccan frontier post and the Mauritanian frontier. This event revived the warlike confrontations.
“Both sides had been fighting for sovereignty over Guerguerat since the Spanish occupation ended in 1975. It was declared a demilitarized zone after the truce,” local outlet Zamwild reported, recalling that Morocco considers itself the owner of this resource-rich territory but the Polisario Front insists on a referendum on independence.