Morocco intervenes militarily to defend plunder corridor – wsrw.org

This story is under construction.

This morning, shooting reportedly took place in the area called Guerguerat in the south-west corner of Western Sahara. Reports from the ground have explained that the Moroccan military has intervened to reopen the trade route from Western Sahara to Mauritania, which has been blocked by Saharawi protesters since 20 October.

Morocco is using Guerguerat to export products from Western Sahara that are then transiting through the port of Nouadhibou, Mauritania. The days following the start of the Saharawi blockade of the trading point, trucks full of fisheries products were observed queuing to cross.

“The trade-route in Guerguerat symbolises the impunity in which Morocco can continue violating Saharawi rights, in particular their right to self-determination”, Sylvia Valentin, chair of Western Sahara Resource Watch stated.

“The UN mission that has been in the territory for nearly three decades, has yet to fulfil its single task: organising a referendum that allows Saharawis to choose the status of their land and its resources. In the meantime, Morocco’s exploitation of Western Sahara’s resources and export via Guerguerat is an offense to the rule of law and to the spirit of the peace accords. WSRW urges the parties to immediately abstain from use of military means, and to constructively immediately find a political solution to the conflict that fulfils the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and leads to an end to the occupation. Foreign governments and companies should support the peace process by refraining from supporting Morocco’s baseless claims to the territory through trade that international courts find illegal”, stated Valentin.