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The Polisario has introduced a new «code of conduct» for its armed fighters. The announcement was made on Wednesday, May 13, in the Tindouf camps by Hamma Salama, head of the Front’s militias. The measure «aims to ensure compliance with procedures», he told the press, adding that training sessions would be organized to familiarize fighters with the new framework.
The move comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the Polisario, just days after the May 5 attack targeting civilian areas in Smara, which sparked an unprecedented wave of international condemnation since the Front unilaterally ended the ceasefire on November 13, 2020.
On the same day, the Polisario leadership also announced the creation of a «Sahrawi military coordination bureau for monitoring compliance with international humanitarian law», along with the appointment of its members.
«This is the first time in its history that the Polisario has taken such an initiative», Larbi Bahi Ennass, a former Front member who defected to Morocco, told Yabiladi. «It is clear that the separatist movement was shaken by the international reaction triggered by the May 5 projectile attacks on civilian targets in Smara», he added.
Pressure from Algeria
The Polisario says the creation of the bureau falls within the framework of international law governing what it describes as «the just struggle of the Sahrawi people». The Front specifically cited United Nations General Assembly resolutions 1514 (1960), 2625 (1970), and 3070 (1973), which it says grant «peoples under foreign domination the right to fight for self-determination by all means, including armed struggle».
However, a Moroccan security source contacted by Yabiladi described the move as the result of pressure from Algeria, which it says is increasingly concerned by mounting diplomatic pressure.
«The establishment of this body was coordinated by senior Algerian army officers who were dispatched to the Tindouf camps immediately after the United States condemned the Smara attack», the source said on condition of anonymity. «In the camps, they held meetings with Polisario members to prepare the response and draft this code of conduct», the source added.
Since last weekend, Polisario militia leaders have reportedly been touring various military regions to relay the new instructions adopted in coordination with Algiers to field commanders.
According to the same Moroccan source, Algeria is seeking to prevent the U.S. condemnation of the Smara attack from strengthening efforts by members of Congress and senators advocating for the Polisario to be designated a terrorist organization, a scenario that «would not serve Algerian interests».
The creation of the «Sahrawi military coordination bureau for monitoring compliance with international humanitarian law» comes four days after a meeting in Washington between President Donald Trump’s adviser for African and Arab affairs and Algeria’s ambassador to the United States, Sabri Boukadoum.
Speaking Tuesday on Sky News Arabia, Massad Boulos reiterated the United States’ condemnation of the Smara attack.
??⚠️ Massad Boulos confirms the United States’ condemnation following the Polisario attack on Semara. ?#UnitedStates #MassadBoulos #Polisario #Semara #Sahara pic.twitter.com/HD7PojJejs
— Yabiladi.com (@yabiladi_fr) May 13, 2026
