Hilale: If MINURSO leaves, Morocco has right to recapture buffer zone

Moroccan Permanent Representative to the UN Omar Hilale, said that the Kingdom would be well within its rights to regain control of the buffer zone if the MINURSO forces retrieve.

During a press conference at UN headquarters subsequent to the adoption of the Security Council resolution on the Sahara and MINURSO, Hilale stated that “if the Polisario maintain their blackmail against UN observers, and the MINURSO leaves, we will be back to the ante to the cease fire.”

Hilale referenced a “blackmail of the Polisario to hunger and thirst against the UN observers,” indicating that the special representative and head of MINURSO threatened to withdraw troops from the mission if the supply obstacles posed by the Polisario persist.

The Moroccan ambassador is referencing the Special Envoy’s most recent report, which cites “constraints on the MINURSO logistical supply and maintenance chain to team sites east of the berm,” which has “increasingly serious consequences for the Mission’s ability to sustain its field presences.”

“The deliveries of fuel, the repair and maintenance of rapidly degrading critical equipment, installations and accommodations and the rotation of vehicles and transportation of heavy equipment that cannot be airlifted” were noted as major hurdles the mission faces.

“This curtailed the Mission’s efforts to implement the environmental sustainability strategy and also significantly affected life support resupply, including food, bulk water and fuel,” read the report.

“We hope that wisdom will prevail and that the UN resolution will convince the Polisario and Algeria that MINURSO should no longer be subject to blackmail,” said the Hilale in the press conference.

**Iranian drones and military action**

The ambassador then responded to questions pertaining to the polisario’s possible acquisition of Iranian drones, calling it a “very serious development, and I hope it is just propaganda.”

“If the polisario uses drones, Morocco will have an appropriate military response,” warned the ambassador.

“If this turns out to be true, there are three explanations,” says Hilale. “On the geopolitical level, this will give us reason for alerting the international community for the last two years, on the fact that Iran and Hezbollah are infiltrating Tindouf and North Africa, and that they have moved from training to equipping the polisario with drones.”

“Second, it would be a game changer militarily and Morocco will react accordingly and in an appropriate manner,” warned Hilale, saying that after destabilizing Yemen, Syria and Iraq, Iran is targeting the North Africa region.

“Finally, if this were true, it would pose a serious moral problem,” argues Hilale, explaining that at a time when the UN is asking international organizations to increase their contributions to Tindouf, at a time when there is talk of the risk of famine and shortages, “the polisario is boasting of having acquired drones.”

Omar Hilale displayed a photo of the drones in question, which he identified as “low-range Iranian drones, costing USD 20,000 to USD 22,000 each, equivalent to food rations for 300 people for a year, or medical services for 500 people for a year, or the annual schooling fees of 120 children.”

Hilale pointed out the dire conditions in the camps, “which the polisario are using to blackmail UN observers.” The severe scarcity of food and medical supplies is exacerbated by the mismanagement of humanitarian aid.