Senegal to Open Consulate in Western Sahara

A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
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Senegal to Open Consulate in Western Sahara

A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)

Senegal will open a consulate in Western Sahara on Monday, joining other African and Arab countries in supporting Morocco’s claim to the disputed territory, two official sources said according to Reuters.

The consulate will be opened by the Moroccan and Senegalese foreign ministers in the Atlantic city of Dakhla, making Senegal the 22nd nation to establish a diplomatic mission in the territory, the sources said.

The Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks independence for Western Sahara, a vast desert region held by Morocco since Spain withdrew in 1975.

Rabat has said the most it can offer as a political solution to the dispute is autonomy. The Polisario Front and Algeria have called for a referendum with independence as one of the options.

In December, the Trump administration recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara and promised to open a consulate in Dakhla. The new administration of US President Joe Biden has not commented on its position on sovereignty.



UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
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UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)

A trickle of aid into the Gaza Strip must become an ocean, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.

“Food, water, medicine and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction,” he said, describing an alert by a global hunger monitor on Tuesday as confirming “what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine.”

“Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes,” he said in a statement.

A worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to end fighting and allow unimpeded aid access, a global hunger monitor warned on Tuesday, saying failure to act now would result in widespread death.

Its alert coincided with a statement from Gaza health authorities saying Israel's military campaign had now killed more than 60,000 Palestinians.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the manmade starvation crisis could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let far more food deliveries in.

"Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said.

It added that it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine".