Morocco orders UN mission in Western Sahara to vacate

Rabat, (IINA) - Morocco ordered staff at the UN mission in the Western Sahara territory on Thursday to vacate within three days, Deutsche Welle reported.
Rabat's order comes as a response to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's remarks that Morocco's claim to the Western Sahara was an "occupation".
Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, who held a tense meeting with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday at Ban’s office, said that his country’s actions were a response to what he called Ban’s “unacceptable statements and condemnable actions” in describing Western Sahara as an occupied region.
The United Nations Security Council held urgent private consultations on Thursday afternoon over the Moroccan order, which came a day after Morocco announced a significant cut in civilian support for the mission; withdrawal of its $3 million in financial aid; and other unspecified steps, New York Times reported.
Earlier this month, Ban visited the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, saying he wanted to restart negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
The rebel group claims that the Western Sahara belongs to ethnic Sahrawis. However, Rabat says the former Spanish territory is an integral part of the Kingdom of Morocco.
"All of these measures would seriously impede the function of the mission", said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
Meanwhile, the Polisario Front's UN representative Ahmed Boukhari said that a frozen conflict would likely be reignited if the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is closed.
AG/IINA

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