Reuters
By Reuters Staff
The Western Sahara’s Polisario Front group said on Friday that Morocco had broken their ceasefire and “ignited war”, but Rabat denied there had been any armed clashes and said the three-decade truce remained in place.
Friday’s flare-up poses the biggest risk in decades of a new phase of armed conflict in the remote desert region, adding to friction between Morocco and its biggest neighbour, Algeria, which backs the Polisario.
The Polisario representative in Europe, Oubi Bechraya, told Reuters there had been military confrontations with the exchange of fire on Friday, adding “we have declared a return to the armed struggle”.
However, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita denied there were clashes, saying the army had only fired warning shots.
“Morocco is committed to the ceasefire,” he told Reuters.
A diplomat familiar with the situation said heavy weapons fire was audible for about half an hour from the direction of a Moroccan military concentration near the site of Friday’s escalation.
