United Nations, United States– A first ground convoy to supply United Nations mission sites in Western Sahara east of the berm security barrier will be organized for the first time since 2020, the UN announced Thursday.
The oldest functioning security barrier in the world, the 1,700-mile (2,700-kilometer) sand wall — or berm — separates the Moroccan territory from land controlled by Polisario rebels, who have been fighting and negotiating for control of Western Sahara since the 1970s.
The former Spanish colony is considered a “non-self-governing territory” by the UN in the absence of a final settlement.
A UN report last year warned that restrictions on the supply chain to the MINURSO mission sites east of the berm have “increasingly serious consequences for the mission’s ability to sustain its field presences” there.
“Agreements have now been reached for a new convoy to proceed at the earliest opportunity,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said Thursday, calling it a “welcome development.”
“Because of the lack of ground convoy movements since the resumption of hostilities in 2020, MINURSO team sites east of the berm have been running out of critical supplies, especially fuel,” he added.
“We look forward to having this convoy move very soon.”
Rabat, which controls some 80 percent of the vast territory, advocates a plan for limited autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.
The Polisario is calling for a referendum on self-determination under the aegis of the UN, which had been planned when a ceasefire was signed in 1991 but never implemented.
The announcement comes as UN envoy to the region Staffan de Mistura invited parties including Morocco and the Polisario Front to New York this week for a series of informal bilateral meetings.