The Polisario Front has announced the creation of what it called a “Sahrawi military office for monitoring compliance with international humanitarian law,” in a move analysts say is aimed at improving the group’s international image as it faces growing diplomatic and security pressure.
The separatist movement said the new structure would oversee what it described as legal obligations linked to “self determination struggles,” citing United Nations General Assembly resolutions, the Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocol I as the legal basis for the initiative.
The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Polisario internationally following accusations in recent months linking elements close to the group with networks associated with Iran and Hezbollah, alongside broader concerns over instability in the Sahel region.
It also follows renewed attention on the group after attacks targeting the city of Smara earlier this month reignited regional security tensions.
Analysts quoted by Hespress said the initiative appears primarily symbolic and communicative rather than indicative of a substantive shift in the group’s conduct.
They linked the move to growing international calls for tighter oversight of Polisario activities and increasing pressure within some U.S. political circles to classify the movement as a terrorist organization over alleged threats to regional stability and reported ties to armed groups operating in the Sahel.
Researcher Said Bouchakouk said the office would have no practical legal impact on the Sahara conflict or the broader security landscape in the Sahara and Sahel region, describing it as largely procedural. He argued that the timing reflects shrinking diplomatic room for maneuver for the Polisario after international criticism over the Smara attacks and accusations of ceasefire violations.
Bouchakouk said those developments had deepened the group’s diplomatic isolation while international backing continued to grow for Morocco’s autonomy proposal under Moroccan sovereignty as a realistic solution to the conflict. He added that the Polisario was attempting to portray itself as compliant with international law despite what he described as growing military escalation and tensions on the ground.
Another analyst, Cheikh Boussaid, said the move represented an attempt to reposition the Polisario within international legal debates by portraying itself as compliant with humanitarian law while countering what he described as growing diplomatic isolation. He added that the initiative also appeared aimed at influencing legal and political discussions in Europe related to Western Sahara trade disputes.
Boussaid said the group was trying to use international legal references to reinforce its claim to legitimacy and reintroduce itself into international legal discussions at a time when questions were intensifying over its regional connections and military activities.
He argued that the creation of the office formed part of a broader communications strategy designed to reshape the Polisario’s international image rather than signal a substantive institutional or operational change.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.