UNITED NATIONS: The conflict in Mali threatens to spill over into the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with the possibility of infiltration by foreign militant groups, the UN chief warned in a report.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called for “sustained” independent human rights monitoring for Western Sahara, something Morocco opposes but human rights groups and the Polisario Front independence movement have long advocated.
Morocco took control of most of Western Sahara in 1975 when colonial power Spain withdrew, prompting a guerrilla war for independence that lasted until 1991 when the United Nations brokered a ceasefire and sent in a peacekeeping mission.
“During meetings with MINURSO (the UN mission), Frente Polisario commanders have not ruled out terrorist infiltrations” from Mali by Islamic militants, Ban said in a report to the 15-nation Security Council.
“Possible armed infiltrations, gaps in regional security coordination and resource shortages for effective border controls expose military observers to risk,” the report said. France launched a military offensive in Mali in January against Islamist militants threatening the capital. That drove the insurgents out of the towns they had seized, but they have since hit back with suicide attacks and guerrilla-style raids.
Western powers are concerned that Mali’s vast and lawless Saharan desert could become a launchpad for international militant attacks. Other European governments have ruled out sending combat troops but are backing a military training force.
“All governments consulted raised serious concern over the risk that the fighting in Mali could spill over into the neighbouring countries and contribute to radicalising the Western Saharan refugee camps,” Ban’s report said. One government called the situation in Western Sahara a “ticking time bomb”, Ban said.
Rabat has long tried to convince Polisario, which represents the Sahrawi people, to accept its plan for Western Sahara to be an autonomous part of Morocco.
Polisario instead proposes a referendum among ethnic Sahrawis that includes an option of independence, but there is no agreement between Morocco and Polisario on who should participate in any referendum.
Ban also recommended renewing the mandate for the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara for another year until April 30, 2014, as well as adding 15 military observers and six UN police officers to the force.
Reuters
