Morocco's King Says Determined to React Against Any Security Threat

Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)
TT
20

Morocco's King Says Determined to React Against Any Security Threat

Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)

Morocco's King Mohammed VI warned Monday that his country will respond in self-defense against any threat to his country's security. This came during a phone conversation the King held with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres over the situation in Guerguerat.

King Mohammed stressed that Morocco will take necessary measures to keep order and protect safety and fluidity of passenger and commercial traffic in border area between Morocco and Mauritania.

Morocco, however, also remains "firmly determined to react, with the greatest severity, and in self-defense, against any threat to its security,” the king said, quoted in an official statement.

"Morocco took its responsibility in line with its legitimate right after the UN Secretary-General failed in its laudable attempts to end the unacceptable acts of the Polisario," he noted.

Morocco will continue supporting UN efforts to find a political solution on the basis of clear criteria and with the participation of real parties to this regional conflict in order to find a realistic, feasible solution within Morocco’s sovereignty, he added.

“Morocco restored the situation, proceeded to a lasting settlement of the problem and guaranteed resumption of traffic flow.”

For its part, the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed support to Morocco in a tweet.

“The government of the Federal Republic of Somalia stands alongside the brotherly Kingdom of Morocco in all the measures it undertakes to protect its security and sovereignty over its territories at the Guerguerat crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania.”

Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Gambia issued a press release on Monday to hail Morocco’s “peaceful and decisive intervention” to secure the region after Polisario and its supporters staged illegal protests in the region.

The West African country also said it supports the UN-led political process to find a political solution to the Western Sahara conflict.

Moreover, President of the Pan-African Parliament Roger Nkodo Dang has sent a letter to the African Union foreign ministers to draw their attention to the maneuvers of the 3rd Vice President of the PAP Jamal Bouras against the interests of the Kingdom of Morocco.

The authoritarian abuses of Bouras, who acts as the president without rotation, have created a serious institutional and functional crisis within the Pan-African Parliament, Dang underlined in the letter.

The president, blocked in Cameroon, stressed that all decisions, declarations, and actions taken outside what is provided for by the texts in force, cannot be considered as reflecting the position of the PAP or its legitimate bodies.



US-Backed Gaza Aid Group Says All Aid Distribution Sites Are Closed

Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
TT
20

US-Backed Gaza Aid Group Says All Aid Distribution Sites Are Closed

Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

A US- and Israeli-backed group handing out aid in Gaza said on Friday all its distribution sites were closed until further notice, urging residents to stay away from these venues "for their safety" after a series of deadly shootings.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which last week started handing out meals to hungry Palestinians inside the war-shattered Gaza Strip, said that a reopening date would be announced later.

The GHF opened two sites in southern Gaza on Thursday after closing all of its centers the previous day in the wake of shootings in the vicinity of its operations. It has so far operated four distribution centers.

The organization bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies, Reuters reported.

GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days.

The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday that its soldiers had fired warning shots. On Tuesday, it said, forces also fired warning shots before firing towards Palestinians that it said were advancing towards troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident.

Israel has re-intensified an offensive against Gaza's dominant Hamas militant group since breaking a two-month-old ceasefire in March in a war triggered by Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.