Jordan plans consulate in Western Sahara amid flareup

Al-Monitor Staff

Nov 20, 2020

A United Nations car drives past the Mechouar square on May 14, 2013 in Laayoune, the capital of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. Six Sahrawi activists arrested this month after pro-independence protests in Western Sahara said they were tortured by Moroccan police and made to sign confessions, Amnesty International charged on May 16, 2013. AFP PHOTO /FADEL SENNA / AFP / FADEL SENNA (Photo credit should read FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images) — A United Nations car drives past the Mechouar square on May 14, 2013, in Laayoune, the capital of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. — FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Jordan plans to open a consulate in Western Sahara amid fresh hostilities between Rabat and a pro-independence group in the contested desert region, Morocco’s Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.

The consulate will be located in Western Sahara’s largest city of Laayoune and will make Jordan just the second Arab state with a diplomatic mission in the Morocco-administered area. Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates opened a consulate in the region, joining 16 African countries with representation in Western Sahara.