RABAT: A top US diplomat on Friday backed Morocco’s plan for autonomy in the disputed Western Sahara, calling “serious and credible” during a visit to Rabat.
“We view Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as one potential approach to addressing the situation” in the disputed territory, US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told reporters.
“It is a serious realistic credible plan that is able to satisfy the aspiration of the people of Western Sahara,” he said after talks with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
Morocco and the Polisario Front fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, with Rabat taking over the desert territory before a UN-brokered cease-fire in the former Spanish colony.
Rabat considers Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom and has proposed autonomy for the resource-rich territory but the Polisario insists on a UN referendum on independence.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been deadlocked since the last round of UN-sponsored talks in 2008.
Sullivan’s visit coincides with a regional tour of the UN envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Koehler, to push for new talks between Morocco and the Polisario.
Morocco maintains that negotiations on a settlement should focus on its proposal for autonomy.
Sullivan hailed Morocco as one of Washington’s “oldest and closest ally anywhere in the world” and said his government continues to work with Rabat to find a solution to the dispute.
“We support the UN diplomatic process and effort to find a mutual acceptable political solution to end the conflict that provides for self-determination to the people of Western Sahara, but the most important is our dialogue with the government of Morocco,” he said.
US says it backs Morocco autonomy plan for Western Sahara
US says it backs Morocco autonomy plan for Western Sahara
- US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan: “We view Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as one potential approach to addressing the situation.”
- Morocco and the Polisario Front fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, before a UN-brokered cease-fire in the former Spanish colony.
Extremists kill 25 workers in northeastern Nigeria
- Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown terrorists, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose radical laws
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: Armed extremists in northeastern Nigeria killed dozens of people earlier this week in separate attacks targeting a construction site and a military installation, security officials said on Saturday.
Gunmen killed at least 25 construction workers during an ambush on Thursday in the town of Sabon Gari in Borno State, said a senior officer of the Borno State Police Command. Authorities in Nigeria often decline to publicly confirm death tolls in attacks, citing security concerns.
“It is a devastating loss, and the hallmarks point directly to Boko Haram insurgents who have long resisted developmental projects in these areas,” the police official said.
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown terrorists, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose radical laws.
The insurgency now includes an offshoot of the Daesh group, known as ISWAP. It has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbors, including Niger, killing about 35,000 civilians and displacing more than 2 million people, according to the UN.
Abdurrahman Buni, a senior officer of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a volunteer vigilante group helping the military fight extremist groups and armed gangs, confirmed that at least 25 construction workers were killed during the Thursday attack.
Buni and the police officer said extremist fighters, backed by armed drones, had raided an army base in a separate attack in the same town hours earlier. The police officer said the dead were nine soldiers and two members of a civilian task force, while about 16 injured security personnel were evacuated for medical treatment following the heavy gunfire.
He said it was unclear if the base attack was carried out by Boko Haram or the rival ISWAP, both of which are active in the region.
Nigeria is in the grip of a complex security crisis, with an insurgency by militants in the northeast alongside a surge in kidnappings for ransom by gunmen across the northwest and north-central regions over the recent months.
Last month, the US launched airstrikes in northern Nigeria, targeting terrorists.
