Egypt backs Polisario Front, risks relations with Morocco

As the conflict between the Polisario Front and Morocco intensifies, more than eight Arab countries rush to declare their full support for the kingdom, while Egypt simply calls on the parties to show restraint and refrain from any provocative actions.
GettyImages-1229451843.jpg
Security guards stand outside the United Arab Emirates' new consulate in Laayoune, the main city in Morocco's disputed region of Western Sahara, on Nov. 4, 2020. - ADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
khalid_hassan_color.jpg
Khalid Hassan
@khalidfoaud

CAIRO — Violence between Morocco and the Polisario Front (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and the Valley of Gold) has recently escalated in the disputed Western Sahara territory. 

On Nov. 19, the Sahrawi National Ministry of Defense announced in an official statement that its forces launched intense attacks on a military wall that cuts through the Western Sahara territory. The Moroccan army erected the 2,700-kilometer-long sand wall at the end of the 1980s as a separation barrier from the Polisario Front.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.

Videos

See more