Tensions remain high in the contested North African territory of Western Sahara ever since an incident at the end of last year threatened to break the 30-year ceasefire and disturb the established drug trade routes. Absent reaction from the 245 U.N. troops in the buffer zone, the Moroccan military swiftly moved in and briefly took control. The possibilities of elite capture of hashish trafficking have also been reduced by the regional market’s democratization over the last five years. Before that, hashish trafficking was monopolized by a few communities, such as Lahmar Arabs in northern Mali with connections in Moroccan and Arab Mauritanian traffickers, he said. “The last seizures in Morocco indicate that big volumes of cocaine are moving towards the coast of southern Morocco and Western Sahara.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 26, 2021 19:07 UTC