US to Open Consulate in Western Sahara

On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. will open a consulate in Western Sahara. This announcement was posted on Pompeo's Twitter account.

He expressed, "Pleased to announce the beginning of the process to establish a U.S. consulate in Western Sahara, and the inauguration of a virtual presence post effective immediately!"

"We look forward to promoting economic and social development, and to engage the people of this region," he added.

Moreover, the US State Department expressed in an official statement that the department plans to establish a full consulate in the region.

It is worthy to mention that US President Donald Trump recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara after a number of tensions were sparked between the Moroccan army and the Polisario last month.

The President of the Polisario Front issued a decree announcing the end of the commitment to the ceasefire signed between the Polisario Front and Morocco in 1991.

On 13 November, the “Polisario” Front said that “the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army launched intense attacks on Moroccan army bases in the Al Mahbas, Hawza and Awsard sectors. And Persian, resulting in losses.”

Therefore, Morocco announced that it had launched a military operation in the disputed buffer zone in Guerguerat in Western Sahara, to expel the Polisario militia from the region.

The Moroccan army confirmed that the crossing in the south of the kingdom has become fully secure, while the “Polisario” front responded, considering it that the operation ended the cease-fire between the two sides in place for 30 years, and that “the war has begun.”