Morocco will respond to the attack suffered in Smara if the authorship of the Polisario Front is proven
Omar Hilale, Moroccan ambassador to the United Nations, affirmed that the four explosions that took place in the middle of the night from Saturday to Sunday in Smara, a city known for its tranquility, quality of life and above all for the pacifism of its civilian population, do not correspond to the version of attacking military targets since there is no military installation in the city.
Hilale stressed that Morocco will draw the necessary conclusions based on the "conclusive" results of the investigation being carried out by the judicial police into the four explosions that killed one person and left three injured, two of them in serious condition.
"Morocco is a legalistic country. For the moment, we are in the phase of investigation and information gathering. We are waiting for the conclusive results of this investigation and upon obtaining them we will act," Hilale maintained in response to a question at the press conference held on Monday following the adoption of resolution 2703 by the Security Council for the extension of MINURSO's mandate for one year.
The Moroccan diplomat recalled that the Prosecutor General of the Court of Appeal of Laayoune had instructed the judicial police to carry out an investigation to determine the scientific and ballistic details of these explosions.
The ambassador also pointed out that these four explosions, as reported by the international press and radio stations, took place in the spiritual city of the Moroccan Sahara. The city of Malâinine, the great leader of the resistance against Spanish colonization, he declared.
City without military facilities
Relying on photos showing the city of Smara, where there are no military installations, Hilale specified that the four explosions took place in the middle of the night in "a city known for its serenity, for the quality of life and above all for the pacifism of its civilian population", pointing out that the explosions occurred on the same perimeter: the first in the industrial district, the second and third in the Essalam district and the fourth in the El Wahda district.
Omar Hilale lamented the death of a martyr, a 23-year-old young man named Hamza, who does not live in this city and who came to see his aunt and ask for his cousin's hand. "He lived in France in the city of Tarbes. He came to build a future with the woman of his life. Unfortunately, fate has decided otherwise and I would rather say that those who organized and perpetrated these cowardly and undignified explosions have decided otherwise", declared with remarkable indignation the ambassador who also deplored the injuries to three people of whom two are in serious condition and are still in the hospital of El Aaiun.
The Ambassador further clarified that immediately after the explosions, MINURSO, which has observation posts in Smara, was informed. Members of the United Nations Mission recorded that the explosions had occurred in civilian neighborhoods and homes, resulting in the death of one civilian and leaving three others wounded. "They are going to inform the UN Secretariat," Hilale said.
Referring to a set of indications that "are convincing and many of which lean in the same direction," the ambassador mentioned, first, the official communiqué issued by the Polisario Front."It is communiqué 901 which indicates that the so-called Saharawi Liberation Army has attacked three regions: Mahbes, Smara and Farsia", Omar Hilale stressed, adding that the separatist militias speak of explosions and shells they launched in the night of Saturday to Sunday.
The second indication, Hilale continued, is that the radio stations, the television channels of the world and the press agencies have cited the "Polisario" as the perpetrator of these explosions. This has never been denied by the Front.
"The fact that it has not denied these actions makes it responsible and effectively indicates that its silence confirms that its militias are behind these explosions", he remarked.
Ambassador Hilale stressed that under international law, international humanitarian law and relevant Security Council resolutions, any attack on civilians constitutes a "terrorist act and an act of war."
"These explosions, which have left a martyr generating sadness throughout Morocco, will not go unpunished," he specified stressing that the perpetrators of these explosions "must assume their legal and political responsibility: not only those who perpetrated these attacks, but also those behind them, those who protect them, those who supply them with missiles, Katiushas and mortars."
Hilale added in this regard that "every explosion leaves traces and technical clues. This will allow Morocco to trace their origin and to draw the consequences and conclusions in order to take the necessary decisions"."
" It is hoped that the United Nations will make this report public so that the whole world knows who is attacking civilians, who is killing the innocent, who is destabilizing the region and who is at risk of provoking conflagration and dramas," the diplomat concluded, affirming that "Morocco trusts the United Nations to follow up on this repugnant and condemnable terrorist act."