Morocco has condemned in the strongest terms the banditry practiced by the Polisario militias after the Algerian-backed separatist group threatened to disrupt an international car race crossing the tiny buffer strip between Morocco and Mauritania. The remarks were made by Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita Friday at the inauguration ceremony by Guinea of its consulate in Dakhla in the Sahara. The Polisario had been internationally rebuked for threatening to block the crossing of the Africa Eco Race rally. The success of the Africa Eco Race rally is a “lesson” to the Polisario separatists and Algeria, which comes following a series of diplomatic setbacks notably the opening of five African consulates in the Sahara. The Polisario’s threats to the car race are pitiful and typical of a bandit attitude, said Bourita, adding that it is impossible to reach a settlement of the Sahara issue with “bandits”.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 17, 2020 23:15 UTC