Staffan de Mistura suggested during a briefing he gave at a closed Security Council meeting on Wednesday, the details of which were published by the Associated Press, that partition is a possible way to satisfy both sides and provide an opportunity for the population to decide which authority they want to live under.
De Mistura said, “Such an option could allow the establishment of an independent state in the southern part on the one hand and the integration of the rest of the region as part of Morocco on the other hand, with international recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over it.”
De Mistura described the idea as worthy of study, and stated that some concerned countries “expressed some interest,” although Morocco and the Polisario Front did not show “any sign of willingness to discuss the matter in more detail.”
The division will place on historical foundations the city of Laayoune, the largest city in the disputed region in the north, and Dakhla, the second largest city in the region in the south.
Although this division may allow for Moroccan autonomy over some lands and the independence of the Sahara, it does not meet conditions put forward by either party a long time ago, according to what was reported by the “AP” agency.
The agency explained that representatives of Morocco and Polisario did not respond to questions related to de Mistura’s proposal.
The dispute over the Sahara is considered one of the oldest conflicts in Africa, and Morocco annexed the Sahara to it after Spain withdrew from it in 1975 and encouraged thousands of Moroccans to settle there. The Polisario Front was established a year later and took up arms against Rabat, demanding secession from the Moroccan state, until the United Nations intervened in 1991 to stop the conflict. fire.
The Western Sahara is equivalent to the size of Britain, but it is sparsely populated and blessed with phosphate reserves and rich fishing areas.
The Sahara has always been the focus of Moroccan foreign policy, as Rabat worked to persuade other countries to recognize the region as Moroccan territory in the face of the demands of the Polisario Front.
Source: A. for.
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