Nouakshott (Mauritania), 23 November 2020 (SPS) - Mauritania has expressed reservations about the second sand wall built by Morocco too close to the border of El Guerguerat, online newspaper Zahraa Chankit reported Sunday, stressing Nouakshott's "dissatisfaction" with such a territorial expansion.
Citing sources close to the case, Zahraa Chakit disclosed that the security chief, Lieutenant General Mesgharou Ould Sidi went to EL Guerguarat to inquire about the situation on the ground and see first-hand the unilateral decisions taken by Morocco in this demilitarized zone.
Mesgharou Ould Sidi inspected the new sand wall, built too close to Mauritanian borders, an expansion described as a "precedent," according to the sources described as "highly informed."
Zahraa Chankit mentioned the "reservations" expressed by Mauritania regarding Morocco’s unilateral approach and the presence of Moroccan military forces stationed in Lagouira, near the Mauritanian army, while this area has been classified as a demilitarized zone for decades.
Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani told Reuters that Morocco had already completed a sand wall until the border with Mauritania, in violation of the ceasefire and the military agreement N°1.
Last Tuesday, Western Sahara campaign UK, a British NGO for solidarity with the Saharawi people, warned against the "expansionist aims" of Morocco in Cape Nouadhibou.
"If Morocco is permitted to control Guerguerat, it will be within striking distance of Cape Nouadhibou, half of which is a part of the Western Sahara currently under no party’s control," it stressed.
"Apart from being a further illegal seizure of Saharawi territory, even the threat of such a move would end Mauritania’s independence because it would give control over the second-city of Nouadhibou and its iron ore exports, permitting Rabat to dictate Mauritania’s policy towards the Saharawi population there and transit to and from the refugee camps. (SPS)
062/SPS/APS