Rabat
Morocco’s king warned Monday that his country would react with the “greatest severity” to any attack in Western Sahara, as the pro-independence Polisario Front said conflict would continue until Rabat ended its “occupation” of the disputed territory. The United Nations said that both sides had exchanged fire, and urged restraint. Moroccan King Mohammed VI, speaking after a telephone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Rabat remained committed to a cease-fire. But Morocco also “remains firmly determined to react, with the greatest severity, and in self-defense, against any threat to its security,” the king said, quoted in an official statement. The crisis erupted after Morocco launched a military operation Friday to reopen a key highway at the Guerguerat border crossing between the territory and Mauritania. It accused the Polisario of blocking the highway, which is key to trade with the rest of Africa. — AFP
