The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for North Africa visited Sahrawi territory in a bid to relaunch a UN-sponsored peace process
The Sahrawi presidency declared three days of national mourning beginning on Saturday, after a Polisario Front commander and three fighters were killed in the disputed Western Sahara, the official SPS news agency reported.
“The head of the sixth military region, Abba Ali Hamudi, member of the Polisario national secretariat, fell on the field of honor with three other fighters,” announced the Polisario agency.
“Following fighting in the Mahbes region, the Moroccan air force responded using two Israeli-made drones,” the Saharan information site Ecsaharaui claimed.
At the same time, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for North Africa Joshua Harris led a delegation visit to Sahrawi territory on Friday, in a bid to relaunch a UN-sponsored peace process in Western Sahara, according to SPS.
The Polisario Front continues to demand a UN-supervised self-determination referendum, which was agreed upon in a 1991 ceasefire accord but has yet to be held.
The dispute in Western Sahara started in 1975, when former colonial ruler Spain withdrew from the area, resulting in a 15-year war between Morocco and the Polisario Front. Rabat controls nearly 80 percent of the territory bordering the Atlantic Ocean and sees the entire region, home to abundant phosphates and fisheries, as its sovereign territory.
The truce broke down in November 2020 after Morocco sent troops to disperse protesters blocking the sole highway to Mauritania and the rest of Africa, which the Polisario says was built in violation of the 1991 agreement. Since then, the Sahrawis have reported frequent clashes, usually announcing losses on the Moroccan side, but never confirmed by Rabat.
