The French newspaper Le Monde said that the collapse of the status quo in Western Sahara between Morocco and the Polisario Front raises fears of the emergence of a new flashpoint of tension in the already troubled Sahel and Sahara region.
The two sides announced the occurrence of an exchange of fire in several locations along the security wall separating their areas of control during the past days, following the intervention of the Moroccan army on the 13th of this month to reopen the Guerguerat border crossing, which was closed by supporters of the Polisario Front for weeks, which affected the traffic of trucks and individuals. .
Following the Moroccan military move, the front announced last Saturday that it was no longer committed to the ceasefire agreement it reached with Morocco in 1991 under the auspices of the United Nations.
In a report, Le Monde wondered whether this "geopolitical turmoil" in the border region with Mauritania would awaken the international community's attention, which has shown to this day its impotence in this issue.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for "doing everything possible to avoid escalation and return as soon as possible to the political track." The escalation of tension in the region worried regional capitals, especially Nouakchott, which called on both parties to "exercise restraint."
Thierry Desrois, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Social Studies in Córdoba, Spain, believes that what the Polisario Front supporters did to block the road leading to the Guerguerat border crossing, through which the Front sought to "move the file by bringing the issue of the Sahara conflict back to the international front and mobilizing the population."
As for Khadija Mohsen Finan, a researcher in political science at the University of Paris I, she believes that Morocco "benefited in recent years from the tendency of the diplomatic balance of power in its favor, especially in light of American, European and Gulf positions that support it."
Le Monde confirms that Algeria, the "historical sponsor" of the Polisario Front, found itself in light of the current crisis, unable to do anything because of its preoccupation with the illness of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was hospitalized in Germany since the end of last October.
It is noteworthy that Morocco and the Polisario have been fighting over sovereignty over Western Sahara since the Spanish occupation ended its presence in the region in 1975.
The conflict on the ground turned into an armed confrontation that lasted until 1991, and stopped with the signing of a ceasefire agreement that declared Guerguerat a demilitarized zone.
Rabat confirms its right to the Sahara region and proposes expanded autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum to decide the region's fate, a proposal supported by Algeria.