Guerguerate crisis : Bachir al-Dakhil excludes the possibility of an armed conflict in the buffer zone [Interview]

What is the hidden objective of the Polisario’s recent activities in the Guerguerate buffer zone ?

Entering the buffer zone is just a way of attracting media and getting under the spotlight, knowing that the Polisario militias have violated a cease-fire agreement reached in 1991 between Morocco and the separatist movement. The latter prevents the two parties from entering the area.

The objective of the Polisario Front is sectioned into two parties, an external and internal one. Internally, the Front is intending to show the inhabitants of the camps that it is advancing in the region while externally it’s goal is to push the United Nations and the world’s influential regimes to never forget about the conflict.

But in my opinion, this move is meaningless as long as the file is in the hands of the United Nations, which appointed a Personal Envoy to the Secretary-General.

The Polisario says that its recent move comes after Morocco violated the cease-fire agreement…

This argument is unreasonable and unfounded because the only part that can speak of the violation of the cease-fire is the United Nations through its mission deployed in site.

How do you evaluate Morocco’s response to this crisis ?

The Moroccan position has so far been a sensible one. The Kingdom has contacted the UN Secretary-General denouncing the Polisario’s move. It also made it clear that the current situation harms the Sahrawis, especially those close to the Mauritanian borders, which the separatist movement pretends that it defends.

Where do things go, according to you ?

So far, it is unclear and I think that it is too early to tell. However, I believe that the current situation in the world and the leaders of influential countries do not want a new armed conflict in the region, which is close to Europe. This would affect peace in Europe, especially Spain, so I do not think that the Polisario’s threats are to be taken seriously.

As we know, some people inside the camps are trying to protest against the Polisario’s leadership which is still promoting a speech that dates back to the 1970s. And that is because, the Front is still controlled by the same people imposed by Algeria since the establishment of the separatist movement.