The European Parliament condemns Polisario Front attacks on Smara
In a written question to the European Commission, French MEP Thierry Mariani condemned the terrorist attacks by the Polisario Front on 28 October that left one dead and three wounded - two of them seriously - in the town of Smara in Western Sahara. The specific question is whether the European body considers "attacks against civilians in Smara as terrorist acts".
The French MEP and former French Minister expressed his deep rejection of these attacks by the Polisario Front, underlining the "risk" that these attacks pose to the "stability of the region". "It could have collateral effects on the states of the European Union," Mariani warned.
"The attacks targeted only the civilian population and caused a number of deaths and injuries. This situation represents a risk for the stability of the region that could have harmful collateral consequences for EU member states," he stressed.
The terrorist group claimed responsibility for these attacks from the UN headquarters in New York a few days after they were committed. Morocco's ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, assured that measures would be taken against those responsible, recalling also that international law qualifies such acts as terrorist acts and acts of war.
🇩🇿🇪🇺| البرلمان الأوروبي ..
🛑 يدين الهجمات الإرهابية للبوليساريو التي شنتها ضد المدنيين في الصحراء المغربية.
● ويحث المفوضية الأوروبية على إعادة النظر في المساعدات الإنسانية التي تتلقاها البوليساريو
✍ قريباً .. الجزائر-الفرنسية دولة راعية للإرهاب
🔗 https://t.co/IlVNMNnIfX pic.twitter.com/L2SJQtXBbg— H A S S A N 🇲🇦 (@HMeghribi) December 22, 2023
The Polisario attacks consisted of four explosions of projectiles launched against residential neighbourhoods in the southern Moroccan town of Smara on the night of 28-29 October, leaving one dead, three wounded and material losses.
He also highlighted the "links between the Polisario Front and Islamist terrorist groups" in the region, noting that "the founder of the Islamic State of the Greater Sahara, Adnane Abou Walid al-Sahraoui, used to fight for the Polisario Front".
MEPs urge Brussels to reconsider aid to the Polisario Front
The French MEP also pointed out that the Polisario Front is receiving humanitarian aid from the EU to manage the refugee camps in the Algerian province of Tindouf, which are controlled and organised "entirely and exclusively" by the Polisario Front itself. MEPs urge the Commission to reconsider and re-evaluate this aid.
Following Mariani's intervention, the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, must give a written response within a maximum of six weeks. In February 2023, in response to a written question from French MEP Brice Hortefeux, the European Commission stated that it "has no information on possible collaboration between the Polisario and terrorist groups in the region". Nonetheless, Brussels assures that it will "continue to investigate and closely monitor developments".
