El Aaiun (occupied territories), April 15, 2013 (SPS) - Moroccan authorities removed Thursday its flags from around the headquarters of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), according to a source from the Ministry of Occupied Territories and Communities Abroad.
“On Thursday afternoon, April 11, there noticed the removing of some 50 Moroccan flags that were surrounding the MINURSO headquarters in the so-called El Massira quarter,” said the same source.
The move comes a few days after the publication of the UN Secretary General’s report on Western Sahara and Christopher Ross visit to the region.
It is also part of other decisions that Morocco failed to implement under pressure from the international community, including the withdrawal of confidence from the Personal Envoy Christopher Ross, the return of Aminatou Haidar to El Aaiun after being expelled and the release of some Saharawi political prisoners, the source added.
In a report released April 8, the Secretary-General of the United Nations noted that the presence of Moroccan flags around the headquarters of MINURSO and Moroccan registration plate on UN vehicles are practices that affect the credibility of the mission in the region. (SPS)
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