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Security Council Extends MINURSO Mandate in Western Sahara

Smoke from burning waste behind a Moroccan border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in Western Sahara, Nov. 24, 2020. (AFP)
Smoke from burning waste behind a Moroccan border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in Western Sahara, Nov. 24, 2020. (AFP)
    Washington, Rabat - Ali Barada and Asharq Al-Awsat
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Security Council Extends MINURSO Mandate in Western Sahara

Smoke from burning waste behind a Moroccan border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in Western Sahara, Nov. 24, 2020. (AFP)
Smoke from burning waste behind a Moroccan border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in Western Sahara, Nov. 24, 2020. (AFP)

The United Nations Security Council on Friday extended for one year the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum on Western Sahara (MINURSO), noting with deep concern the possible breakdown of the ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front.

The Security Council “decides to extend the mandate of MINURSO until 31 October 2022,” read the text of the resolution presented by the United States.

The resolution was adopted in a vote of 13 in favor to none against, with two abstentions from Russia and Tunisia. It called on parties to resume negotiations without preconditions and in good faith.

Speaking after the vote, the US welcomed the extension of MINURSO’ mandate.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said her country’s priority is to work with all members of the Council to support the parties in finding lasting peace.

Complications related to the file of extending the mandate of MINURSO have increased due to the recent tension between Morocco and Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front, in addition to tension in the Guerguerat region on the border with Mauritania.

Staffan de Mistura was recently appointed as the new Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, ending an over two year-long vacancy and renewing the prospects of reinvigorating peace talks initiated by his predecessor Horst Kohler.

Meanwhile, in a major breakthrough for Moroccan diplomacy, Colombia’s Foreign Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez announced on Thursday that instructions have been given to the new Colombian Ambassador in Rabat to extend the consular jurisdiction of the Embassy in the kingdom over all Moroccan territories, including the Sahara.

The Columbian minister had met in Rabat with her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, who informed her of the latest developments related to the autonomy initiative for the Sahara region, presented by Morocco in 2007.

Ramirez stressed “the serious efforts made by Morocco in the search for a pragmatic, realistic and lasting political solution to this dispute, within the framework of the political process conducted under the exclusive auspices of the UN.”

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Lebanon Army Says 3 Troops Killed in Munitions Blast in South

A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
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Lebanon Army Says 3 Troops Killed in Munitions Blast in South

A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP

Lebanon's military said a munitions blast in the country's war-torn south killed an officer and two soldiers on Sunday, days after an explosion killed another soldier.
Under a November truce deal that ended a war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group's infrastructure there, said AFP.

"An army officer and two soldiers were killed and a number of citizens were injured due to an explosion of ammunition as it was being transported inside an army vehicle" in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, an army statement said.

Specialized army units were investigating the circumstances of the incident, the statement added.

An AFP correspondent in Braiqaa, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border, saw several charred and burnt vehicles on the road, with some damage to nearby shops and flats.

The army had cordoned off the area.

President Joseph Aoun offered his condolences for the three servicemen "who fell while performing their mission to preserve security and stability" and to keep south Lebanon residents from harm, a presidency statement said.

On Monday, the army said a soldier was killed and three others wounded in an explosion in the country's south, where Aoun said they had been dismantling mines in a tunnel.
According to the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River. Israel was to withdraw all its forces but has kept troops in five places it deems "strategic".