King Mohammed VI: Morocco Will Not Be Affected by Provocations in Guerguerat

King Mohammed VI delivers a speech, to his side Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Prince Moulay Rachid (MAP)
King Mohammed VI delivers a speech, to his side Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Prince Moulay Rachid (MAP)
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King Mohammed VI: Morocco Will Not Be Affected by Provocations in Guerguerat

King Mohammed VI delivers a speech, to his side Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Prince Moulay Rachid (MAP)
King Mohammed VI delivers a speech, to his side Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Prince Moulay Rachid (MAP)

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has announced that his country will not be affected by the deep provocations and desperate maneuvers carried out by various parties.

His comments were in reference to Algerian-backed Polisario Front’s recent provocations in Guerguerat, a town near the Moroccan-Mauritanian border, and the group’s maneuvers seeking to undermine the stability and security of Morocco’s southern provinces.

On the 45th anniversary of the Kingdom’s historic Green march on Saturday, King Mohammed highlighted the country’s firm position.

While Morocco continues to uphold logic and wisdom, it will also respond, with “the utmost firmness and resolve” to any practices or attempts to undermine the security and stability of its southern provinces, he stressed.

“I am confident the United Nations and MINURSO will continue to carry out their duties in terms of preserving the ceasefire in the region,” the King added.

The UN Security Council issued a decision on Oct.30, in which it welcomed Morocco’s “serious and credible” efforts to reach a mutually agreed-upon solution.

Almost all Security Council resolutions on Western Sahara adopted since 2007 have welcomed the Moroccan autonomy plan.

It also reaffirmed the need to fully respect military agreements previously reached with MINURSO regarding a ceasefire and called upon the parties to adhere to those agreements, implement their commitments to the former Personal Envoy, and refrain from any actions that could undermine negotiations or further destabilize the situation in Western Sahara.

In this context, the King pointed to his country’s gains at the diplomatic and continental levels, noting that the latest Security Council resolutions have lain to rest outdated, unrealistic approaches and proposals.

The UN resolutions called on the actual participation of the real parties concerned in this regional conflict and have irreversibly endorsed the political solution based on realism and consensus as the path forward.

“This policy is in line with the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, which is backed by the Security Council and the influential powers, as the sole normal course of action for the settlement of this dispute”.



Biden Calls Israeli Strike that killed Nasrallah a ‘Measure of Justice’

Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
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Biden Calls Israeli Strike that killed Nasrallah a ‘Measure of Justice’

Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush

US President Joe Biden on Saturday called the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah a “measure of justice.”

The comments came after Hezbollah confirmed earlier Saturday that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.

Biden noted that the operation to take out Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ attack on Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Biden said in a statement.

He also noted that Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s watch has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.

The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of the families of US diplomats who are not employed by the embassy in Beirut. It also authorized the departure of those who are, as well as nonessential employees because of “the volatile and unpredictable security situation” in Lebanon’s capital.

The State Department has previously advised American citizens to consider leaving Lebanon and reiterated its warning against all travel to the country.

“Due to the increased volatility following airstrikes within Beirut and the volatile and unpredictable security situation throughout Lebanon, the US Embassy urges US citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available,” the department said in a statement Saturday.

The State Department routinely orders or authorizes the departure of nonessential embassy staffers and the families of diplomats when security conditions in the country where they are posted deteriorate.

An ordered departure is not technically an evacuation but does require those affected to leave. An authorized departure allows those affected to leave the country voluntarily at government expense.