Marruecos desmiente que haya habido víctimas en choques con el Polisario

Morocco denies that there were victims during clashes with the Polisario Front following Friday's intervention by the Moroccan army in Guerguerat, at the southern tip of Western Sahara, to expel Sahrawi demonstrators.

Official sources told Efe that there were no victims along the security wall - erected in the 1980s by Morocco from north to south of the Sahara - during the two days following the expulsion, denying Polisario reports on the subject.

The same sources stressed that there were no attacks along the wall either, and as for the clashes, the sources reduced them to "some harassment" by denying Polisario reports on the bombing of Moroccan army positions.

The Polisario Front reported on Saturday that units of the Saharawi People's Liberation Army "attacked bases, support and supply points of the enemy, and dealt heavy blows to the Moroccan army", which suffered "fatal casualties".

After declaring a state of war with Morocco over the "invasion" of Western Sahara, the Polisario Front said it had already caused "fatal casualties" on the second day of bombing against the Moroccan army. 

The bombing is taking place at the separation wall in the desert in response to the attack launched by Morocco on Friday at the border post of Guerguerat, which links Mauritania to the occupied territories of the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara.

According to a statement classified as "part of war number 2", units of the Popular Army for the Liberation of the Sahara (ELPS) "attacked bases, support and supply points of the enemy, and dealt heavy blows to the Moroccan army", which suffered "fatal losses".

The Polisario Secretary General, Ibrahim Ghali, considered Saturday as broken the cease-fire agreement signed with Morocco in 1991 and declared the state of war throughout the territory.

Morocco has so far not reacted to this declaration of war, while on the Saharawi territory, controlled by Morocco, normality reigns, Efe noted.

The Moroccan news agency MAP has launched a campaign in which it qualifies as false the images published by the Saharawi media of alleged photos and videos of clashes between the Polisario and Morocco, attributing them to other conflicts in other parts of the world.

From Rabat, they assure that the situation in Guerguarate is "calm", after the operation of the Royal Armed Forces which "allowed the expulsion of Polisario militias from the crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania," according to the Moroccan news agency MAP.

Morocco, having noted the great restraint in the face of multiple provocations by "Polisario" militias in the buffer zone, launched Friday morning an operation to end this unacceptable blockade of civil and commercial traffic between Morocco and Mauritania," MAP said.

Rabat's version is that the armed Polisario militia opened fire on the Moroccan armed forces, "who retaliated by forcing elements of the separatist gang to flee, without causing casualties," according to the state agency.

The "Polisario" militias entered the buffer zone on 21 October, where they committed acts of banditry, blocked the movement of people and goods on the road and constantly harassed MINURSO military observers.

n addition, according to sources in the Moroccan Foreign Ministry, dozens of trucks of goods crossed the border through the south and north of the border post, according to Efe Saturday.

These trucks have been blocked at both borders since October 21, after a group of Polisario Front demonstrators blocked the road in this area and prevented the passage of any kind of traffic of passengers and goods.

In September 1991, a ceasefire was signed under the auspices of the UN after 16 years of war. Since then, the planned referendum has been postponed several times due to a dispute between Rabat and the Polisario over the composition of the electorate and the status of the territory. UN-sponsored negotiations involving Morocco, Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania have been suspended for several months.

Since 20 October, several Polisario-mandated elements have blocked civil and commercial land traffic between Morocco and Mauritania by deploying improvised roadblocks between the El Guerguerate and PK-55 border posts, where Mauritanian border guards are stationed. A no man's land of a few kilometres, considered as a buffer zone by the ceasefire agreements of 1991 But if Polisario incursions into this zone have been recurrent in recent years, generally on the eve of UN resolutions, the makeshift camp seems to become permanent this autumn.

Moreover, the severe condemnation by Algeria of the Moroccan attack Friday at the border post of Guerguerat and the bellicose silence of Algiers have strengthened the confidence of Sahrawi independence fighters in the path of armed harassment, which continued Saturday with new attacks against military positions at the separation wall built by Morocco in the desert.

Reactions have been swift and in Spain several Moroccan consulates have been reprimanded on Sunday morning. 

One of the places where there has been some tension has been the Consumado de Marruecos in Valencia.

The Moroccan diplomatic office published a statement condemning the incident:

"Spain categorically condemns any action that contravenes the principles and values of the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations of 1961 and 1963, to which it is a party and a firm supporter.

In this sense, Spain categorically condemns the acts carried out today by some participants in the rally called by the Federation of Associations of Solidarity with the Sahrawi People of the Valencian Community in front of the Consulate General of Morocco in Valencia, who have entered the mast of the building in order to try to place the Sahrawi flag, thus violating the inviolability, integrity and dignity of the consular headquarters.

No manifestation of the right of assembly can degenerate into illegal actions, such as the attempt perpetrated today, which is a clear breach of current legality. The Government is proceeding to clarify the facts and will continue to take all appropriate measures to ensure respect for the integrity and inviolability of the diplomatic missions accredited to our country," reads the text issued by the Moroccan Consulate.