When soldiers from Polisario attacked Moroccan military posts in the far southwest of occupied Western Sahara in November it was a highly significant moment – the first resumption of military operations since the UN-mediated ceasefire of 1991.
That ceasefire was supposed to lead to a referendum of the Saharawi people on their future. But, 30 years on, they have still been denied that right to self-determination and remain divided between refugee camps in the Algerian desert and the territories occupied by its neighbour Morocco. Over the decades, frustration with the international community’s unwillingness to hold Morocco to its obligations – or even to safeguard the human rights of Saharawis under occupation – has led to calls to resume military action.
