Morocco rebuts Algeria’s U.N. statements on Western Sahara

Morocco’s U.N. Ambassador, Omar Hilale, addressed a letter to the President and members of the U.N. Security Council this week, refuting Algeria’s recent remarks on Western Sahara as “erroneous assertions,” according to Morocco World News.

Hilale’s letter responds to statements made by Algerian diplomat Lounes Magramane, who reiterated Algeria’s backing of the Polisario Front, an organization seeking full independence for the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara.

Hilale accused Magramane of using Algeria’s non-permanent seat on the council to divert from the agenda and indulge in what he described as “his country’s Moroccan phobia,” La Vie Echo reported.

Algeria’s comments follow recent declarations of support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara by several countries, including France. First introduced to the U.N. Security Council in 2007, the plan proposes that the Sahrawi people govern themselves in all areas except defense and foreign affairs, while remaining under Moroccan sovereignty.

The U.N. has been striving to resolve this territorial dispute since Spain's withdrawal from Western Sahara in 1976, after which Morocco asserted historical claims over the territory.