WESTERN SAHARA
Maps of Fury
The main pro-independence group in the Western Sahara condemned the United States’ recognition of Morocco’s claim to the territory, even as the US unveiled a new, redrawn map of Morocco including the region as part of the country, the Middle East Eye reported.
The pro-independence movement, the Polisario Front, said it would continue to fight on behalf of the Sahawari people native to the region until all Moroccan forces withdraw from the region. Meanwhile, Algeria – Morocco’s neighbor, which backs the Polisario Front – criticized the new map as an attempt to “destabilize Algeria.”
Currently, the disputed territory is mostly under Morocco’s control with a heavy military presence due to tensions that have simmered there since the 1970s. Analysts say they believe the recognition will bring tensions to a boil.
Last month, the Polisario Front ended a 29-year-old cease-fire and declared war after they accused Morocco of launching military operations in a buffer zone, the Washington Post reported. Morocco said it acted because the rebels were allegedly stopping people and goods, and harassing UN peacekeeping troops, which the UN has denied.
Meanwhile, the US recognition, the first by a major power, runs counter to UN resolutions on the region and is widely seen as payback for Morocco’s agreement to normalize ties with Israel: The country became the fourth Arab nation this year to agree to do so after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.
Iran, however, condemned the new normalization agreement as a “betrayal of Islam,” and warned the four Arab states that signed deals with Israel this year that they would face “popular uprisings” in the near future.
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