Algerian Party Calls for Sahara Referendum, Boosting Maghreb Unity

The word Polisario is seen on the ground in Tifariti, Western Sahara. (Reuters)
The word Polisario is seen on the ground in Tifariti, Western Sahara. (Reuters)
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Algerian Party Calls for Sahara Referendum, Boosting Maghreb Unity

The word Polisario is seen on the ground in Tifariti, Western Sahara. (Reuters)
The word Polisario is seen on the ground in Tifariti, Western Sahara. (Reuters)

Algeria's Movement of Society for Peace opposition party said a self-determination referendum is the only way to resolve the crisis in the Sahara region, calling for boosting Maghreb unity.

The party held a meeting to discuss the situation in Guerguerat, the buffer zone in the Western Sahara.

The free choice of the Sahrawi people ensures the permanent stability of the entire region, it added, warning that imposing a fait accompli always leads to conflict.

It called for cooperation between all parties in line with international law, to calm the situation in Guerguerat and protect civilians. The region must be safeguarded from security threats that “only serve the colonial powers.”

The Arab Maghreb Union project is the framework that brings together the interests of the Maghreb countries and their peoples at various economic, social, cultural and political levels, said the party, adding. The Union can help resolve the Sahara crisis.

The party also called for the opening of borders and allowing the free movement of goods and people, stressing that citizens of the Maghreb countries are united as “one people” and no issue can undermine the ties between them.

On Friday, the Algerian foreign ministry called for the “immediate cessation” of military operations, deeply deploring the serious violations of the ceasefire in Guerguerat the repercussions of which "would affect the stability of the entire region”

Algeria said it expects the UN Secretary-General and the United Nations mission for the referendum in Western Sahara to carry out their tasks without restrictions or obstacles, and show the impartiality required by the current developments.

Meanwhile, Ambassador of the Polisario Front in Algeria, Abdelkader Taleb Omar, announced that the group “has waited long enough and it now realizes that armed action alone is needed to move the standing waters and rectify the course.”

He said that military action in Guerguerat will introduce a “new dynamic” for the Sahrawi people.



Sudanese Coalition Led by Paramilitary RSF Announces Parallel Government

FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)
FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)
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Sudanese Coalition Led by Paramilitary RSF Announces Parallel Government

FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)
FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)

A Sudanese coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Saturday a parallel government, a move fiercely opposed by the army that could drive the country further towards partition as a two-year-old civil war rages.

The government led by RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country.

The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions, Reuters said.

The RSF controls much of the west of the country such as the vast Darfur region and some other areas but is being pushed back from central Sudan by the army, which has recently regained control over the capital Khartoum.

The military led by career army officer General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had condemned the idea of the RSF creating a parallel government and promised to keep fighting until it controls all of Sudan, which has been plagued by conflicts, coups, poverty and hunger.

In February, the RSF and other allied rebel leaders agreed in Kenya to form a government for a "New Sudan," aiming to challenge the army-led administration's legitimacy and secure advanced arms imports.

Dagalo, a former militia leader and one of Sudan's wealthiest people, known as Hemedti, was hit with sanctions by the US, which accused him of genocide earlier this year.

He had previously shared power with Burhan after veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir's ouster in 2019. However, a 2021 coup by the two forces ousted civilian politicians, sparking a war over troop integration during a planned transition to democracy.

Burhan was sanctioned in January by the US which accused him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.

The ongoing conflict has devastated Sudan, creating an "unprecedented" humanitarian crisis in the country, with half the population facing spreading hunger and famine, according to the United Nations.