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.



Blinken: US Will Continue to Press Israel to Do More to Spare Humanitarian Sites in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw on September 12, 2024. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw on September 12, 2024. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP)
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Blinken: US Will Continue to Press Israel to Do More to Spare Humanitarian Sites in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw on September 12, 2024. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw on September 12, 2024. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the United States will continue to urge Israel to do more to spare humanitarian sites in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli airstrike on a UN school complex sheltering displaced Palestinians killed six UN staffers.

When asked at a news conference in the Polish capital about Israel’s bombing of the school complex in central Gaza the day before, Blinken told reporters that “we need to see humanitarian sites protected.”

“That’s something we continue to raise with Israel,” he said.

Wednesday's strike on the UN-supported al-Jaouni Preparatory Boys School in Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman, hospital officials said. Among those killed were six staffers from the UN Palestinian refugee agency, known as UNRWA, the main UN relief agency in Gaza.

UNRWA described the strike as the deadliest single incident for its staff members. Among those killed at the school, it said, were the manager of the shelter and others working to help the thousands of displaced people taking refuge there, including teachers.

The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said at least 220 UNRWA staffers have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s military offensive began in response to Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Blinken blamed Hamas for continuing to hide its fighters among civilians and said the bombing “underscores the urgency" of reaching a cease-fire in the embattled territory.